RAPID CITY – The final inning proved to be the difference as the Aberdeen Smittys split a pair of road games against the Rapid City Post 320 Stars in American Legion baseball on Monday night.

Rapid City walked off the Smittys with two runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 win in the first game. Aberdeen then rallied for nine runs in the top of the seventh for a 12-7 win in the second contest.

“I’m really proud of the way the guys responded tonight after losing a heartbreaker in game one,” said Smittys coach Brandon Kusler.

In the first game, Aberdeen took the lead in the top of the seventh only to have Rapid City score two in the bottom half to claim the victory. The Stars scored on a fielder’s choice to tie the game, before hitting an RBI single to win the contest.

The first three innings were a pitcher’s duel as both teams failed to score. Rapid City took a lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on an error. However, the Smittys would answer back in the top of the fifth as Ethan Kjenstad scored on an RBI sac fly by Zane Backous.

The Smittys took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh on a Drew Salfrank grounder, which eventually resulted in a Rapid City error, driving home Cooper Eisenbeisz. But it would not be enough as Rapid City posted the winning runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Phillip Zens led the Smittys on the mound, pitching six innings and allowing three runs on four hits, while striking out eight batters. Drew Salfrank had a pair of hits in the setback.

“In game one, we just didn’t do enough offensively to give Phillip some run support,” Kusler said. “I thought Phillip threw really well for us and gave us a chance to win. And unfortunately at the end, we just didn’t make enough plays to secure the win. Credit to them for capitalizing on our mistakes.”

Down 5-3 entering the final inning in the nightcap, the Smittys went to work, as Salfrank and Casey Vining scored runs to tie the game. Then, with the bases loaded, the Smittys proceeded to score seven more runs, four on bases-loaded walks, two on RBI singles by Salfrank and Andrew Ristau-Richardson, and one on a pitch that hit Backous. Brendan Livermont, Eisenbeisz, Vining, and Zens each had RBI walks.

The Smittys opened the game by scoring the first run on a Rapid City error, sending Backous home. Rapid City answered back in the bottom of the first with three runs. However, the Smittys tied the game in the second, with Kjenstad scoring on a Rapid City error and Ristau-Richardson scoring on a Backous RBI ground out.

The teams went scoreless in the third and fourth innings before Rapid City took back the lead in the bottom of the fifth with two more runs.

The squads failed to score in the sixth inning before the Smittys poured on the runs in the top of the seventh. Rapid City scored a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame, but the Smittys closed the door to earn the win.

“In game two, we just found a way to rally in the seventh and come back to take a sizable lead,” Kusler said. “We had so many guys contributing that inning with some big hits or finding a way to get on via hit by pitch or walks.”

Backous led the Smittys on the hill, pitching 6 2/3 innings and allowing six runs on 10 hits, while striking out eight. Salfrank had two hits and drove in one. Backous and Zens each knocked in a pair.

“Really proud of the way our guys battled to get a split against a good team,” Kusler said. “We’ll look to carry that momentum against Sturgis.”

The Smittys, 17-11, play a doubleheader today against Sturgis at 4 and 6 p.m.

Aberdeen Smittys 000 010 1 – 2 6 3

Rapid City 000 100 2 – 3 5 3

Phillip Zens, Jaiden Smith (7) and Andrew Woehl; Landon Faatz, Noah Popken (7) and Jett Wetzler. 2B – Rapid City, Ryan Rufledt, Kolby Denke.

Aberdeen Smittys 120 000 9 – 12 6 2

Rapid City 300 020 2 – 7 12 3

Zane Backous, Casey Vining (7) and Andrew Ristau-Richardson; Seth Schaefbauer, Caden Benke (6), Noah Popken (7), Kolby Denke (7), Isaac Dike (7) and Jett Wetzler. 2B – Rapid City, Dike 2, Ryan Rufledt, Jett Wetzler, Jace Wetzler. 3B – Rapid City, Mason Mehlhaff.