Mitchell Post 18 sweeps Yankton in road doubleheader

Jul. 3—YANKTON — Mitchell Post 18 began its two-week stretch of baseball on the road with a doubleheader sweep against Yankton Post 12 on Friday night at Riverside Park.

Post 18 scored three runs in the final two innings to claim a 4-1 victory in Game 1, and in Game 2, Mitchell scored four runs in the second inning to pull away from Yankton and win that contest 7-1.

In the opener, Post 18 was tied with Yankton 1-1 heading into the sixth inning. After back-to-back singles from Seth Muth and Dylan Soulek, Jonah Schmidt had a base hit that brought Muth home and Mitchell regained the lead for the first time since the second inning.

At the top of the seventh inning, Jace Larson hit an infield single and later stole second and third base before Mason Geraets' single to left field brought Larson home and extended the lead to two. Pinch runner Lukas Bennett substituted for Geraets and after a sacrifice bunt by Landon Waddell and a single by Brock Sparks, Bennett scored and Post 18 had a three-run lead. Jake Helleloid struck out two in the bottom of the seventh inning and Yankton's Jace McCorkell hit a fly out to Mitchell's Carson Fahey that put an end to Game 1.

Larson went 2-for-3 with two scored runs while Muth went 1-for-3 with one run scored. Sparks, Waddell and Geraets had one hit and one RBI each, while Soulek chipped in with one hit and Schmidt had one RBI. Helleloid struck out nine batters and surrendered five hits in seven innings pitched.

In Game 2, Mitchell scored five runs in the first two innings, which began with a Jake Helleloid pop fly that was deemed successful after an error by Yankton's infield allowed Dylan Soulek to score the first run of the game.

The second inning started with Mason Geraets and Hudson Haley both walked at the plate by Yankton's Landen Loecker. After a sacrifice fly by Brock Sparks and a single by Seth Muth, Geraets and Haley scored and Post 18 increased its lead to three. Dylan Soulek hit a line drive to center field on his fifth pitch at the plate, bringing home Carson Fahey and Seth Muth. With a 5-0 at the top of the seventh inning, Jace Larson hit a single to left field that brought two runners and effectively gave Mitchell a 7-1 win.

Soulek went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Muth went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Larson had two RBIs and one hit while Jonah Schmidt had one hit and Sparks had one RBI. Waddell picked up the win for Post 18, threw six strikeouts and allowed four hits in seven innings pitched.

Mitchell Post 18 (20-9) is on the road for a doublehead with Pierre Post 8 on Tuesday, July 5.