MAPLE GROVE, MINN. – The Aberdeen Smittys split a pair of American Legion games at the Gopher Classic on Saturday, falling to the Sartell-St Stephen Sabres 6-1 before rebounding with a 6-4 win over Hauptman O’Brien.

The Smittys fell behind early against Sartell-St. Stephen. The Sabres got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Smittys coach Brandon Kusler attributed the loss to a few costly defensive miscues.

“We made a couple mistakes defensively that cost us, and a good team like Sartell is going to make you pay for those mistakes and they did just that,” Kusler said.

The score remained the same until the top of the fourth inning, when the Smittys got on the board with an RBI ground out by Brendan Livermont, scoring Casey Vining cutting the deficit to 2-1. However, that was the only run the Smittys could muster. Sartell-St. Stephen added one run in the bottom of the fourth, before closing the door on any hopes of a Smittys comeback with three more runs in the fifth.

Cooper Eisenbeisz pitched six innings, allowing six runs on eight hits, while striking out three and walking three. Kusler was pleased with Eisenbeisz’s performance.

“Cooper pitched really well for us,” Kusler said. “Proud of the way he competed and challenged a very tough lineup.”

Drew Salfrank led the team with two hits.

While the offense scored just one run, Kusler was glad to see his team compete hard at the plate.

“Offensively, despite the one run scored, I was pleased with our at-bats and the amount of good at-bats and hard contact,” Kusler said. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t string anything together to scratch a few more runs across.”

The Smittys found themselves in a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning against Hauptman O’Brien before Andrew Ristau-Richardson smacked a two-run single plating the game-winning runs.

Kusler was proud of his team’s efforts after losing the first game of the day.

“I’m really happy with the way our guys battled for all seven innings,” Kusler said. “Once again, our guys responded to adversity after dropping game one and going through some ups and downs in game two.”

The Smittys got on the scoreboard first in the second contest, with Drew Salfrank scoring on an error in the bottom of the first inning. Hauptman O’Brien answered back with two runs in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead. The Smittys were able to retake the lead in the fourth as Vining scored on a Jackson Welke single before Ethan Kjenstad scored on a steal of home for a 3-2 advantage.

In the fifth, Salfrank scored again, this time coming in on Casey Vining’s double to right field, extending the Smittys lead to 4-2. Hauptman O’Brien scored twice in the top of the sixth to tie the game before Ristau-Richardson’s game-winning hit.

Kusler noted that the team was confident down the final stretch of the game.

“After they tied the game in the sixth, everyone was calm and collected, and Andrew came through with a big single to take the lead,” Kusler said. “After that, he closed the door for us on the mound one, two, three in the top of the seventh to secure the win. Really proud of his efforts.”

Drew Salfrank threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking six.

“Drew competed well on the mound, too,” Kusler said. “He didn’t have his best stuff today, but he battled and worked himself out of some tough jams and gave us a chance to win.”

Salfrank had two of Aberdeen’s five hits in the contest.

The Smittys, 23-13 on the season, continue action at the Gopher Classic today against the Rapid City Post 22 Hardhats at 11:30 a.m. and Maple Grove, Minn. at 2 p.m.

Kusler says he is looking forward to the opportunities to play against more quality competition.

“Happy to take one of two today,” Kusler said. “Looking forward to two more opportunities (Sunday), but our eyes are set on Post 22. That’s a big game for us, and our guys are prepared to compete against a really good team.”

Aberdeen Smittys 000 100 0 – 1 6 2

Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres 200 130 x – 6 8 0

Cooper Eisenbeisz and Andrew Ristau-Richardson; Brenden Boesen and Will Thompson. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Drew Salfrank, Brendan Livermont; Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres, Andrew Ritter, Brett Schlangen.

Hauptman O’Brien 020 002 0 – 4 7 1

Aberdeen Smittys 100 212 x – 6 5 2

Kyle Rutherford, Manny Reyes (6) and Tanner Miller; Drew Salfrank, Andrew Ristau-Richardson (7) and Zane Backous. 2B – Hauptman O’Brien, Reyes; Aberdeen Smittys, Casey Vining.