MITCHELL – The Aberdeen Smittys earned two key wins over a familiar foe as they defeated Mitchell Post 18 in an American Legion baseball doubleheader at Drake Field on Sunday afternoon. Aberdeen won the opener 5-4 before rolling in the second contest 11-1.

In game one, the Smittys jumped out to an early lead and held on for a win. In the second inning, Zane Backous hit an RBI double to right field, driving Andrew Ristau-Richardson home, before Jaiden Smith hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Brendan Livermont and giving the Smittys a 2-0 lead.

In the third inning, Backous came up big, smacking a three-run home run, extending Aberdeen’s lead to 5-0.

The Smittys were able to frustrate Mitchell pitcher Dylan Soulek.

“Soulek is a good pitcher and we got to him early in the game. Backous came through with a big home run in the third inning to help us build our lead,” Smittys coach Brandon Kusler said. “He also did a great job on the mound in relief.”

Backous came on in relief of Smith, who exited the game in the top of the third with a leg injury. Backous pitched four innings, allowing four runs on four hits, while striking out two. He also led the offense with four RBI on two hits, while Smith also drove in a run.

Mitchell was able to mount a comeback, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Later, in the bottom of the seventh, Mitchell added another pair of runs, including a one-run home run by Soulek, to close the deficit to 5-4.

That’s when Phillip Zens was called to the mound. Zens was able to finish off the final three outs and give his team the victory. Kusler was proud of how his team kept fighting.

“Our guys just kept battling and found a way to get the win,” Kusler said. “Zens came up big by shutting the door in the seventh. We just carried that momentum into game two.”

Game two was a much different story.

The Smittys used an eight-run third inning to fuel the 10-run victory and complete the sweep.

After the Smittys scored one run in the first inning, the bats came out in the third. Zens got the scoring started by hitting an RBI double, before Casey Vining hit a two-RBI double to center field. After scoring two more runs to make the score 6-0, Backous delivered a bases-loaded double to right field, extending the lead to 9-0.

Kusler was excited to see his team’s performance.

“Our bats were hot, and that third inning was really huge for us,” Kusler said. “(Jackson) Welke had a big play in that inning that allowed us to add to our lead. He hustled out an infield single with two outs, and then we ended up scoring another five runs or so after that.”

Kusler said that Welke provided the spark that ignited the big inning.

“That was a big-time effort from him, and our guys came through with some big hits after that,” Kusler said.

From there, the Smittys cruised to the win, adding two more runs in the top of the seventh to put an exclamation point on a stellar day.

Zens led the Smittys on the mound, pitching five innings and allowing one run on two hits, while striking out six batters.

“Zens was dominant on the mound,” Kusler said. “Really proud of how he responded to a rough outing on Wednesday.”

At the plate, Drew Salfrank led the Smittys with three hits and two RBI, while Backous tallied three RBI on two hits. Vining drove in a pair, while Zens and Livermont each had two hits.

Kusler was happy with the team effort and is looking forward to an upcoming tournament in Sioux Falls next weekend.

“Lots of different guys contributing today allowed us to earn a couple wins against a very good team,” Kusler said. “We’ll look to carry this momentum into the tournament over the weekend.”

Aberdeen Smittys 023 000 0 – 5 7 2

Mitchell 000 020 2 – 4 5 2

Jaiden Smith, Zane Backous (3), Phillip Zens (7) and Andrew Ristau-Richardson; Dylan Soulek, Lincoln Bates (5) and H. Haley. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Backous; Mitchell, Karter Sibson. HR – Aberdeen Smittys, Backous; Mitchell – Bates, Soulek.

Aberdeen Smittys 108 000 2 – 11 13 2

Mitchell 000 010 0 – 1 4 1

Phillip Zens, Cooper Eisenbeisz (6) and Andrew Woehl; Peyton Schroder, L. Soulek (3) and E. Schlimgen. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Zens 2, Casey Vining, Drew Salfrank, Zane Backous. 3B – Mitchell, Lincoln Bates.