Palace City Post 18 Legion baseball split its final regular-season doubleheader Wednesday at Dakota Valley, winning game one 9-5 before falling 3-0 in the nightcap.
Palace City jumped ahead in game one with a six-run fifth inning to secure the victory. Ian Weber, Dawson Adams, Tyler Christensen, Avery Kaus and Carter McCormick each drove in runs during the big inning. Canon Moller and Adams each finished with RBI singles, while Palace City took advantage of eight walks from Dakota Valley pitching.
Jacob Ebert earned the win for Post 18, going the distance and allowing five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts. Kaiden Allen and Ethan Hegg each recorded two hits, while Adams, Moller, Weber, Christensen, McCormick, Hegg and Kaus each drove in a run.
Dakota Valley scored five runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by a three-run home run from Vincent Hoffman, but Palace City held on for the win.
In game two, Dakota Valley’s Noah Graham threw a complete-game shutout, limiting Palace City to two hits while striking out four in a 3-0 victory. The Panthers scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning, including a solo home run from Jack Wiese and RBI hits from Micah Dembowski and Hoffman.
Kaiden Allen took the loss for Palace City, allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings with four strikeouts. Allen and Jaxson Hartman recorded the only hits for Post 18 in the loss.
Palace City finishes the regular season with a 20-22 record, including an 11-14 mark against Class A opponents. The No. 11-seeded Post 18 team will await its Region opponent for a best-of-three series July 22-23. The Region winner will advance to the Class A State Tournament in Rapid City, scheduled for July 28-Aug. 1.