WATERTOWN – The Aberdeen Smittys built an early lead and never looked back, cruising to a 15-4 win over Watertown in game one of their opening round series in the Class A American Legion baseball playoffs on Thursday night.

After a scoreless first inning, the Smittys struck first with four runs in the top of the second.

Drew Salfrank got the scoring started with an RBI single, plating Phillip Zens, before Andrew Ristau-Richardson scored on an error. Jaiden Smith then delivered a two-run single to left field, scoring Salfrank and Ethan Kjenstad.

Smittys coach Brandon Kusler said the team set the tone for the evening in the second inning.

“Offensively, it was big for us to score first, and that four-run second inning really set the tone,” Kusler said. “Our guys did a great job battling against a very tough pitcher and found multiple ways to manufacture some runs.”

The Smittys added three more runs in the fifth inning as Casey Vining singled to score Salfrank, before Smith and Vining scored on an error, increasing the lead to 7-0.

After Watertown got on the board with a run in the bottom of fifth, the Smittys plated five more runs in the sixth inning for a commanding 12-1 advantage.

Salfrank scored on another RBI single from Smith, and Vining then hammered a three-run home run. Zens later scored on error.

Watertown added three runs of its own in the bottom half of the sixth to cut the deficit to 12-4, before the Smittys responded with three more runs in the top of the seventh to secure the win. Salfrank scored on a wild pitch, before Vining scored on a Cooper Eisenbeisz single, and Ristau-Richardson drove in Zens with the final run.

Backous led the Smittys to the victory on the mound, pitching 6 2/3 innings, striking out six Watertown batters and not giving up a single walk.

“Zane was stellar on the mound for us,” Kusler said. “He did an excellent job attacking a very good lineup. Zero walks is the thing I’m most proud of. Our defense was making some great plays behind him, too.”

The Smittys totaled 17 hits, with Salfrank leading the way with five. He also scored four runs. Vining tallied three hits and four RBI, while Zens also had three hits and scored four times. Smith and Eisenbeisz each had two hits, while Smith also had three RBI. Eisenbeisz and Livermont each added two RBI.

Kusler was thankful for the support from the fans who made the trip to Watertown on Thursday.

“The playoff atmosphere was awesome tonight,” Kusler said. “Really big crowd, and we had a lot of fans that made the trip. They helped us all night long and brought a lot of energy.”

With the win, the Smittys are now one win away from capturing a state tournament berth.

Game two is set for 2 p.m. today in Watertown. If a third game is necessary, that will take place at 4 p.m. Kusler says the team has unfinished work to do and must come ready to play.

“(Friday) is a new day, and the job isn’t finished,” Kusler said. “We have to go take care of business and come out like we did tonight.”

Aberdeen Smittys 040 035 3 – 15 17 2

Watertown 000 013 0 – 4 10 3

Zane Backous, Jackson Welke (7) and Andrew Ristau-Richardson; Kaden Rylance, Ryan Roby (5), Justin Remmers (7) and Carson Mutschler. 2B – Watertown, Drew Denzer. HR – Aberdeen Smittys, Casey Vining.