ABERDEEN, S.D. — Palace City Post 18 split an American Legion baseball doubleheader Thursday against Aberdeen, riding a complete-game effort from Kaiden Allen to a 7-1 victory before falling 7-6 on a walk-off hit in game two.
In the opener, Allen tossed a complete game, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three as Palace City collected 13 hits.
Allen helped his own cause with an RBI double in the first inning, and Jacob Ebert’s RBI single put Post 18 ahead for good in the third.
Palace City broke the game open with four runs in the fourth. Carter McCormick delivered an RBI double, Jaxson Hartman added an RBI single, and Ebert and Dawson Adams each drew bases-loaded walks.
McCormick paced the offense by going 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Allen also finished with three hits. Ethan Hegg added two hits, and Ebert drove in two runs.
Game two ended in dramatic fashion as Aberdeen erased a 6-1 deficit with six runs in the bottom of the seventh, capped by Levi Hoffman’s walk-off RBI single for a 7-6 victory.
Palace City built an early lead with three runs in the second, including two on an Aberdeen error and an RBI single by Allen. Adams added an RBI single in the third to make it 4-0.
Ian Weber led the offense with three hits, while Allen and Avery Kaus each drove in two runs. Adams, McCormick and Hartman each added two hits.
Noah Bennett started for Palace City, allowing five runs, three earned, over 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts. Nolan Widstrom was charged with the loss after Aberdeen’s late rally.
Palace City improved to 17-15 overall and 10-11 against Class A opponents. Post 18 returns to action Tuesday, July 7th with a 5 p.m. doubleheader at Brookings.