MITCHELL, S.D. — Mitchell baseball earned a split in a home doubleheader Tuesday, falling 5-4 in the opener before rallying for a 6-5 win in the nightcap against Sioux Falls Lincoln.
In Game 1, Mitchell outhit Lincoln 6-3 but couldn’t overcome defensive miscues and timely situational hitting. Lincoln broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning, capitalizing on an error. Mitchell responded in the bottom half, taking a 2-1 lead on RBI singles from Stratton Forst and Bailor Kristensen.
Lincoln regained control in the sixth inning without recording a hit, using sacrifice flies from Kale Meyer and Reid Atkinson along with another Mitchell error to take a 4-2 lead. The Patriots added an insurance run in the seventh.
Mitchell mounted a late push in the bottom of the seventh, as Carter McCormick and Jaxson Hartman each drove in a run. Mitchell left the bases loaded with the winning run at second base.
Forst, Kristensen, Ian Weber, Hartman, Lincoln Bottum and McCormick each had one hit for Mitchell. Jacob Ebert took the loss despite allowing no earned runs over 5 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking three on 105 pitches.
In Game 2, Mitchell erased a four-run deficit to secure the split. Trailing 5-2 entering the sixth inning, Mitchell scored four runs to take the lead. Weber was hit by a pitch to start the rally, followed by sacrifice flies from McCormick and Kaiden Allen. Bottum delivered the go-ahead RBI single to center field to make it 6-5.
Tyler Christensen earned the win with a complete-game effort, allowing five runs — one earned — on five hits while striking out four and walking three.
Ethan Hegg led Mitchell offensively, going 3-for-3. Weber, Hartman, Allen, Bottum and McCormick each drove in a run.
Cooper Hicks paced Lincoln with two hits, while Opland Sonnichsen, Meyer and Tassler each had an RBI.
Mitchell improved to 9-6 on the season and will travel to Brookings for a doubleheader Friday at 6 pm.