Palace City Post 18 was shut down by strong pitching and dropped both of its games Saturday at the Gopher Classic, falling 3-0 to Bloomington Post 550 before suffering a 9-1 loss to Rosemount Post 65.
The two defeats came after Post 18 opened the tournament Friday with a loss to Elk River and a victory over the Invictus Eagles of Omaha.
In the opener, Bloomington scored once in the third inning and added two more runs later to claim a 3-0 victory in a pitchers’ duel.
Noah Bennett turned in a solid start for Palace City, working 5 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits while striking out three and walking two.
Bloomington starter Kyle Fortner tossed a complete-game shutout, limiting Post 18 to three hits while striking out three without issuing a walk.
Kaiden Allen, Ethan Hegg and Jaxson Hartman each had a hit for Palace City. The defense backed Bennett by turning two double plays.
In game two, Rosemount jumped on Palace City in the second game after Post 18 scored first.
Canon Moller gave Palace City a 1-0 lead in the opening inning with an RBI double, but Rosemount answered with three runs in the bottom of the third, taking advantage of a defensive error before Cal McIntire added a two-run single.
Rosemount pulled away from there for the 9-1 victory.
Ian Weber took the loss for Palace City, allowing three unearned runs on two hits over three innings while striking out two and walking four.
Moller finished 1-for-3 with the lone RBI for Post 18. Jacob Ebert, Nolan Widstrom and Hartman also collected hits.
Palace City returns home Tuesday to host Yankton in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. at Cadwell Park. The games will serve as Senior Night and the team’s final home contests of the regular season. KORN News Radio’s pregame coverage begins at 4:45 p.m. on FM 101.3, AM 1490 and KORNRadio.com.