Jul. 3—MITCHELL — A doubleheader sweep was not to be for the Palace City Post 18 American Legion baseball team on Thursday.
Post 18 notched a commanding 7-1 victory over Aberdeen in Game 1, only to be stunned 7-6 by a huge seventh-inning rally capped with a walk-off in Game 2.
Kaiden Allen posted a solid two-way performance in Palace City’s win, going the distance on the mound with four hits and three walks allowed while adding three hits, one run batted in and one run scored on offense.
Carter McCormick offered three hits and scored three runs, as Ethan Hegg also had two hits for PCB, which had 13 hits as a team. Jacob Ebert had two RBIs.
For Aberdeen, Joe Cogley had two of the team’s four hits, including a triple. Porter Lozenski was the pitcher of record, being credited with the loss in a start that lasted 3 2/3 innings.
In Game 2, Palace City (17-15) led 6-1 after scoring one run in the top of the seventh inning.
However, Aberdeen (8-18) had a sudden surge saved for the very end, compiling three walks, four hits and capitalizing on a PCB error in the final frame. The hosts, who had scored two total runs across the first 13 innings played between the two teams, erupted for six runs in the last half-inning, including three runs with two outs.
Aberdeen’s Michael Dutenhoffer delivered a game-tying two-run double, setting the table for Levi Hoffman’s walk-off single that scored Cogley for the winning run.
Ian Weber recorded three hits, while McCormick, Jaxson Hartman and Dawson Adams all had two hits apiece for Palace City, which tacked 13 more hits onto its total for the day compared to seven hits for Aberdeen. Allen and Avery Kaus each drove in a pair of runs, and Hegg drew two walks.
Noah Bennett struck out five batters against four hits, two walks and five runs (three earned) allowed in 6 1/3 innings of work. Nolan Widstrom was tagged with the loss in relief.
Earning the pitching win for the Smittys was Donovan Kiesow, who threw just three pitches and only one out before the last-gasp rally.
Palace City Post 18 visits Brookings for a doubleheader on Tuesday, July 7.
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