Bobcat baseball to take on Rapid City Stevens in playoffs

The Brookings varsity baseball team wrapped up the regular season over the weekend with a pair of doubleheaders. The Bobcats swept Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon at Bob Shelden Field in Brookings and then were swept on the road by Yankton on Sunday.

Brookings went 7-3 in its final 10 games to finish the regular season with a record of 10-11. Brookings head coach Carter Roach said he knew his team would play better after they started the year with a 3-8 record.

"There was only going up from our stretch two weeks ago. I think we truly are looking at the team where we are at, mentally and in our play, that we're hitting our stride at the right time. I know one thing, we're going to be tough wherever we are at and whoever we are against in the playoffs. We're going to be a tough out for anyone," Roach said.

Brookings scored 17 runs in each game on Saturday as the Bobcats beat the Smittys 17-1 and 17-7. They had 11 hits in each game.

Baker Hanson led the way, going 5-for-6 with three RBIs. Jay Harris was 2-for-5 with four RBIs and Nolan Krogman was 1-for-6 with five RBIs. Noah Lease was 2-for-2 with two RBIs in the first game and Tre Christopherson was 1-for-3 with two RBIs in the second game. Andrew Heinze was 2-for-2 with three RBIs in the second game and Jase Bauer was 2-for-4 with four RBIs in the two games.

The Bobcats have scored double-digit runs in six of their last seven wins and Roach credited base running to their success on offense lately.

"The big thing we've really looked at the last two weeks was just our base running. With our team speed, we have to take extra bases when we can, especially when we are given free ones with walks and hit by pitches. I thought we ran the bases really well and put a lot of pressure on the defense," Roach said.

Brookings started the season 2-1 and then lost seven of the next eight games. Roach said it took awhile for his team to get into the swing of things, but he thinks they have a lot of confidence heading into the postseason.

"About a week and a half, two weeks ago, I just really think we found confidence," Roach said. "We've got some underclassmen playing some big roles and I think they've really stepped into those roles and are just showing that they have the ability to be a starter in our league. Confidence is a big thing.

"Some pitching performances have really picked us up. When we throw strikes, I'm confident our defense will make plays behind us where we're going to be in a good situation to win in the playoffs."

Brookings will be the No. 12 seed in the Class A Regional Playoffs and will play a best of three series at No. 5 Rapid City Stevens this weekend. The Bobcats were supposed to play Stevens in the opening weekend of the season but it was canceled due to weather.

Stevens has a record of 15-4 on the season. It will be an uphill battle for the Bobcats as they have only beaten one team that had a winning record this season. However, they kept things close against No. 4 Yankton on Sunday, losing 8-5 and 6-4.

Roach said he thinks his team has had a business-like approach during these last two weeks and hopes that continues during this playoff series.

"About two weeks ago I said that we had to take care of business. Ever since then, we've just showed up and taken care of business. That's with stealing bases or getting guys home from third base with one out, or really just getting outs on the mound. We just have to take care of business and play the game we know we're capable of playing," Roach said.

Game one between Brookings and Stevens is set for 8 p.m. Central time on Friday night. Game two is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Saturday and game three, if necessary, will follow that.