Parkston Mudcats win Sunshine League

At the start of the game, Dimock-Emery seemed well on its way of ending the Parkston Mudcats back-to-back Sunshine League title hopes.

But Parkston did not go away easily, as the Mudcats rebounded to from an early deficit beat Dimock-Emery 21-10 in eight innings for their second straight Sunshine League title.

Parkston Mudcats manager Dave Roth knows there is work to be done yet, though.

“Well, it feels good to win it, but we are not done yet,” he said. “We also want to win the District tournament, so we are just taking it one game at a time.”

Last year, the Mudcats also won the District 5B Tournament, but it was Dimock-Emery who won the Class B state amateur baseball title.

Roth said the team wants to win all three instead of just the first two this year.

“That’s the angle,” said Roth of winning the Sunshine League, the District tournament and the state title.

While Dimock-Emery’s season is done with an 11-3 Sunshine League record, the Mudcats, who are 11-2 in the Sunshine League, still have a game to play Thursday. Parkston plays at 8 p.m. in Parkston against Alexandria.

If Alexandria beats the Mudcats, both Parkston and Dimock-Emery would be tied for the top spot in the Sunshine League. But the Mudcats own the tiebreaker with two wins over Dimock-Emery this year.

“If we lose, we are tied with Dimock, but we beat them twice,” Roth said. “So, Thursday is for seeding in the tournament.”

The Parkston Mudcats are the top seed with Dimock-Emery as the number two seed. Alexandria is guaranteed the third seed with a 9-4 conference record. The Mitchell Mad Dogs are 7-6 in the conference, but are a Class A team, so they will not be participating in the District 5B Tournament.

Platte is in line for the fourth seed. Platte has a 5-9 conference record, but the Killer Tomatoes regular season is over. If Corsica/Stickney, which has a 4-9 record, beats the Parkston Rock Bass Thursday, it would claim the fourth seed since Corsica/Stickney beat Platte twice.

If the Rock Bass, who are 4-8 in the Sunshine League, beat Corsica/Stickney, the record breaker would be how Platte and Parkston did against the top four teams in the Sunshine League. Platte beat the Parkston Mudcats, which would make the Killer Tomatoes the fourth seed, according to Roth.

Delmont is 2-9 in the conference.

Dimock-Emery had a 3-1 lead at the end of the first inning, but in the fourth inning, the Parkston Mudcats took control of the game with eight runs for a 12-5 lead.

“In the fourth inning, we just started hitting and things got rolling,” Roth said.

Trevor Arnold got the win as he went six innings and gave up 10 runs on 12 hits.

Trevor Freudenthal hit a grand slam in the game along with a double and he finished with six RBIs. Jeff Harris and Matt Malloy both had three singles and a double.

For Dimock-Emery, Matt Lucky pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up 12 runs.

Jon Hart had a double and two singles and Jason Schmidt and Jeremy Pischke both had two hits.

Sunshine League games

Platte 21, Mitchell 11 (7 innings)

Platte pounded out 25 hits as the Killer Tomatoes beat Mitchell 21-11 in seven innings in Sunshine League amateur baseball game Sunday.

The win gives Platte a four-game winning streak as the Killer Tomatoes improved to 5-9 overall and in the Sunshine League.

Grant Olson led Platte’s offensive attack as he went 5-for-5 with three doubles. Jarod Meyerink was 4-for-4 with three doubles, Mike Severson was 4-for-5 with a triple and Calby Plooster was 4-for-6.

Audie Kuipers earned the win as he pitched all seven innings and gave up 11 runs on 12 hits.

For Mitchell, Jason Skinner took the loss and Arin Boschee hit a solo home run while Alex Loes was 2-for-4 with a triple.

Mitchell plays at 8 p.m. Thursday in Delmont against Delmont, and Platte’s next game will be during the District Tournament, which starts June 21 in Platte.

Alexandria 18, Corsica/Stickney 8 (7 innings)

ALEXANDRIA — Alexandria beat Corsica/Stickney 18-8 in seven innings Sunday in a Sunshine League amateur baseball game.

Alexandria improves to 11-5 overall and 9-4 in the Sunshine League.

Casey Solem led Alexandria at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, including a three-run home run. Tad DeRouchey went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, Chase Smith was 4-for-5 with two RBIs and Ray Slaba was 2-for-2.

Matt McManus pitched five innings, gave up five runs — three earned — and struck out two batters.

Nate Blom took the loss for Corsica/Stickney as he pitched 4 1/3 innings. Derek Bultjes and Chad Wetland both had two hits for Corsica/Stickney.

Alexandria plays at 8 p.m. Thursday in Parkston against the Parkston Rock Bass, and Corsica/Stickney plays at 8 p.m. Thursday in Corsica against the Parkston Rock Bass.

Parkston Rock Bass 13, Delmont 2 (7 innings)

DELMONT — The Parkston Rock Bass beat Delmont 13-2 in seven innings Sunday in a Sunshine League amateur baseball game.

Brandon Auch took the win for Parkston as he pitched all seven innings and gave up one earned run and struck out two batters.

James Boehmer went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, an RBI and two stolen bases. Billy Murtha had a three-run home run two go along with two other hits for four RBIs. Trevor Salmonson was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base.

Nate Harrington took the loss for Delmont as he pitched all seven innings.

Roger Albrecht was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles.

Parkston plays at 8 p.m. Thursday in Corsica against Corsica/Stickney, and Delmont plays at 8 p.m. Thursday at home against Mitchell.

Saturday’s game

Mitchell 16, Parkston Rock Bass 11

PARKSTON — Mitchell pounded out 17 hits as the Mad Dogs beat the Parkston Rock Bass 16-11 in Sunshine League baseball game.

Jamie Huber got the win for the Mad Dogs as he went 5 1/3 innings before being relieved by Kyle Larson. Humber gave up eight runs, struck out two and walked one batter.

At the plate, Larson had four hits and scored four runs to lead the Mad Dogs. Adam Kaus had two doubles among four hits and score twice with four RBIs. Austin Olson had three hits and Jay Fischer had two singles.

For Parkston, Billy Murtha took the loss after throwing five innings. Murtha gave up 13 runs on 12 hits and had two strikeouts.

Tommy Murtha had a home run and two doubles for Parkston as James Boehmer and Billy Murtha both had two hits.

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