Hot bats carry Yankton to doubleheader sweep of Mitchell baseball

YANKTON — Racking up 21 hits and 18 runs across two games, offense powered Yankton to a doubleheader sweep of the Mitchell High School baseball team on Monday evening.

The Bucks won 8-2 in Game 1 and 10-7 in Game 2, moving Mitchell to 3-3 on the spring season following a 3-0 start to the season.

In Game 1, Yankton put up four runs in the first inning and punctuated the effort with three runs in the sixth to earn the win.

A Dylan Soulek RBI single drove in Lincoln Bates in the top of the first inning to give Mitchell a 1-0 edge, but it was short-lived. Yankton scored three runs off of errors and the fourth on an RBI fielder’s choice in the bottom half of the first.

Though the Kernels loaded the bases and scored a run in the second, the Bucks’ early cushion was never closer than 4-2.

For Yankton, Drew Ryken had three hits as Lucas Kampshoff drove in three runs and scored two more and Rugby Ryken scored thrice. Drew Ryken also earned the win on the mound, tossing all seven innings with four strikeouts to two walks with five hits allowed.

Soulek had two of the Kernels’ five hits, with Bates accounting for one run scored and another driven in on one hit. Gavin Soukup was credited with the loss, pitching four innings with two strikeouts, one walk and five runs allowed.

Unlike the first contest, the Kernels held a 7-5 lead after four innings in Game 2, but a five-run fifth inning gave the Bucks a comeback victory.

The top four hitters in Yankton’s order — Rugby Ryken, Drew Ryken, Kampshoff and Matthew Sheldon all had multiple hits. Kampshoff and Sheldon knocked across three and two runs, respectively, as Josh Sheldon also had three RBIs. Sean Turner got the start and struck out five with six walks in four innings before Matthew Sheldon came in to earn the win with four strikeouts and one walk in three relief innings.

Hudson Haley and Peyton Mandel each drove in two runs, as Bates added two hits to his tally. Peyton Schroder was given the loss on the mound, tossing four innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Soulek struck out four and walked three batters in two innings of relief.

Mitchell (3-3) is back on the road Friday for a doubleheader at Brandon Valley.