HARRISBURG, S.D. — Harrisburg didn’t get the ball out of the infield in the seventh inning, but it didn’t matter.
The third-seeded Tigers scratched across two runs in the bottom of the seventh, piecing together hit batters, walks and a bunt to walk off No. 6 Mitchell 4-3 in the regional final and advance to the Class A state tournament.
Up 3-2 entering the inning, Mitchell starter Gavin Soukup hit a pair of batters to put runners on first and second with no outs. Braxton Kusler laid down a bunt to advance the runners but collided with Mitchell second baseman Carter Miller at first base, causing the throw to sail down the right-field line and putting runners on second and third with no outs in a now-tied game. After a walk loaded the bases, Peyton Mandel entered and picked up a strikeout before walking Max Carlson, which scored the winning run for Harrisburg and sent the Tigers to the state tournament next weekend.
“We deserved to win,” head coach Luke Norden said following the game. “It’s tough they didn’t hit the ball out of the infield in the last inning and we lost the game, but sometimes that’s what happens.”
On the collision at first base between Kusler and Miller, the umpires ruled the throw took Miller into the baseline, deeming Kusler safe and giving him and the other baserunners a chance to advance when the throw went down the line, which set Harrisburg up with a golden opportunity to win the game that it capitalized on.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I probably should’ve run a different bunt defense. I knew they were going to bunt with a left-handed kid up there and the bottom of the order,” Norden said. “(He) just kind of set it there right in the middle. … We just weren’t able to get up there and field the ball a little sooner than we needed to.”
After going down 1-0 in the first inning, Mitchell took a 3-1 lead, scoring once in the second and tacking on two more in the fourth on a two-out, two-RBI single from Mandel. A solo home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth from the Tigers' Maddux Scherer cut Mitchell’s lead to one before the two-run seventh won it for the Tigers.
Soukup limited the Harrisburg offense to four runs on three hits, though only two of the runs were earned. He walked one and struck out two during his six innings of work but took the loss.
“Gavin threw really, really well,” Norden said. “Tough luck to hit two guys there in the seventh, but super effective all game long. … (He) did a really good job of throwing his offspeed for a strike.”
For Harrisburg, Brandon Simunek got the win in relief, throwing a 1-2-3 seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts. Eli Kokenge started and went six innings with five hits, three runs, three walks and seven strikeouts.
To get to the contest with Harrisburg, though, Mitchell took down Rapid City Stevens 7-6 in Game 1. The Kernels erupted for five runs in the bottom of the third inning and held on as Stevens scored three in the seventh to cut the lead to one.
Soulek got the win on the mound, going five innings with three hits, three runs (two earned), four walks and 10 strikeouts. Carter Miller picked up the save in relief and went 1-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored, while Soulek added a 1-for-2 performance as well, driving in a pair of runs and crossing the plate twice himself. Karter Sibson was 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI in the win.
The loss to Harrisburg ended Mitchell’s season at 11-11 and one game shy of the state tournament. Mitchell now turns to the summer season, with its first games scheduled for Thursday against Yankton. Harrisburg, who Mitchell beat in the regional final last year to make the state tournament, will take on No. 10 Sioux Falls Jefferson on Saturday, May 27, with a trip to the state title game on the line. No. 1 Pierre and No. 5 Brandon Valley will meet in the other semifinal game.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m just so happy with the progress that we’ve made,” Norden said. “Guys just have the mentality that we’re just going to keep getting better. … We have that mentality that we're going to fight and claw and just continue to get better and battle all year long.”
The Trust Project
