Amateur baseball roundup for May 26: Canova rallies to knock off Cornbelt rival Salem

CANOVA — In a back-and-forth Cornbelt League contest, Cole Gassman’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Canova to a 7-6 home win over rival Salem on Thursday night.

Salem led 3-1 into the middle of the seventh inning until Riley Genzlinger’s triple to right-center field tied the game at 3. In the eighth, Garrett Gassman had an RBI double and a Salem error helped the Gang go ahead 5-3 into the ninth inning. The Cubs answered with back-to-back RBI singles from Kyle Tuschen and Steve Mehlbrech and went ahead two batters later when Tyler Cleveland had an RBI sacrifice fly to score Tuschen.

In the bottom of the inning, Derek Miller doubled and scored on a Genzlinger single, with Genzlinger coming around to score three batters later with one out on Gassman’s clinching single up the middle.

Justin Miller was the winning pitcher in relief for Canova. Trey Krier started and allowed three runs on six hits in six innings, with eight strikeouts.

Marcus Traxler / Mitchell Republic

Isaac Anderson started for Salem, with four hits, one run allowed and three strikeouts in five innings of work. Luke Loudenberg threw the final four innings and took the loss, allowing eight hits and five earned runs for the Cubs. Tuschen finished with three RBIs, while Cole Cheeseman scored three times. Each had two hits and were joined by Anderson in the multi-hit column, as well.

Canova (2-1, 2-1 Cornbelt) will play a non-league game on Sunday, May 29 hosting the Castlewood Monarchs at 5 p.m. Salem (1-4, 0-3 Cornbelt) will play at the Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks on June 2.

PARKSTON — A seven-run fifth inning sent the Mount Vernon Mustangs past Parkston in a Sunshine League amateur baseball game on Thursday night at The Pond.

Eric Giblin hit a home run and drove in three runs, while Koby Larson knocked in a pair of runs for the Mustangs. Brady Albrecht had two hits for Mount Vernon, which got a strong showing on the mound from starter Deric Denning, who struck out nine and allowed only two hits in seven innings. Kade Bialas closed the door in the eighth and ninth innings without allowing a hit and striking out three for Mount Vernon.

Dillon Stadlman was the losing pitcher for the Mudcats, allowing four hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings, striking out four. Spencer Frudenthal and Nate Doering had the lone hits for Parkston, which had four errors on defense.

Mount Vernon (5-2, 1-0 Sunshine) will visit Alexandria at 8 p.m. Sunday, while the Mudcats (1-5, 0-2 Sunshine) will host Garretson in a non-league game Saturday before heading to Corsica/Stickney on June 2.

EMERY — A two-run 10th inning for the visitors from Platte lifted the Killer Tomatoes to a road Sunshine League victory Thursday night over Dimock/Emery.

Platte scored both its runs in the 10th on hit batsmen, with Hunter Hewitt and Hayden Kuiper each driving in runs the hard way after two walks and a single loaded the bases. Dimock/Emery led the game 4-0 through four innings before Platte climbed back into the game

Michael Buitenbos had three hits for the Killer Tomatoes, while Sheldon Gant had two hits and three runs scored. Richard Sternberg, Hewitt and Grant Lang each had two hits, with Hewitt and Lang driving in a pair of runs. Owen London, Myles Kott and Grant Lang teamed up on the pitching effort, with Lang pitching the largest share, a 4 1/3-inning outing allowing one hit and no runs, striking out 12 for the win.

Tyson Kayser had a three-hit game for the Raptors, while Chase Arend, Phil Johnson and Sam Pischke each drove in runs but Dimock/Emery was hurt by 15 strikeouts at the plate. Johnson threw eight innings in his start, allowing 12 hits, four runs and striking out eight. Peyton Nash was the losing pitcher in relief, allowing a hit, two runs and striking out five.

Platte (3-1, 1-1 Sunshine) is off until June 9 when they host Alexandria. Dimock/Emery (3-4, 1-1 Sunshine) hosts Winner/Colome at 8 p.m. Sunday in Emery.

CHAMBERLAIN — The combined pitching effort of Travis Gant and Josh Engquist kept the Chamberlain Mallards at bay Thursday as the Plankinton Bankers earned a road shutout in Pony Hills League play.

Gant threw six innings, allowed three hits and struck out 10 for the win, with Engquist picking up the three-inning save with four strikeouts without allowing a hit. Cole Knippling had two of the Bankers’ six hits and drove in a run, joined by Trevor Boyd’s RBI single, as Plankinton scored a single run in the second, fifth and seventh innings.

Chamberlain’s Mike Schwartz, Cole Nachtigal and Chris Schwartz each had hits for the Mallards. Adam Schroeder was the losing pitcher, allowing four hits and three runs in seven innings of work with four strikeouts.

Plankinton (3-0, 3-0 Pony Hills) play Colome at home on June 2. The Mallards (0-3) host Kimball/White Lake on June 2.

PLANKINTON — A back-and-forth showdown in the Pony Hills League landed in favor of South Central on Thursday night, with a go-ahead run in the eighth inning proving to be the difference.

Jaden Frank had four hits for the Storm, while J.J. Beck and Hunter Van Niewenhuyse each knocked in two runs. Jayd VanDerWerff’s RBI single in the eighth put the Storm ahead for good. Tommy Determan had three stolen bases and two hits for the Storm. Beck was the winning pitcher, throwing the final three innings and striking out three without allowing a run. Cole Christopherson started but only threw one inning after allowing three runs on four hits for South Central.

Jesse Grosdidier and Andrew Becker each had two hits for Plankinton. Ryland DeVries took a no decision for the Gold Sox off the start, allowing five hits and six runs while striking out five in two innings of work. Tom Harris was the losing pitcher in relief, allowing three hits and one run in three innings of work.

South Central (1-3, 1-2 Pony Hills) travels to face the Sioux Falls Squirrels on June 4. The Gold Sox (0-4, 0-2) host Corsica/Stickney on Sunday.