Mitchell softball defeats Spearfish in final matchup of two-day road trip out west

May 10—SPEARFISH, S.D. — The Mitchell High School softball team defeated Spearfish 12-1 on Saturday in the final matchup of a two-day, three-game road trip to the Black Hills.

Overall, the Kernels went 1-2 during the road trip, with the victory against the Spartans proving to be the only victory.

Mitchell got things going early, scoring three runs in the first inning and adding another three over the next two to go in front 6-0. But the Kernels blew things open in the fourth, bringing five runs across the plate to go in front 11-0. Spearfish added one in the bottom half of the fourth, but Mitchell got that run back in the fifth, which proved to be the final inning of the day.

Rylee Jennings pitched a complete game, allowing only one earned run, five hits and striking out eight. Macey Linke had a big game, collecting two hits, four runs batted in and she smashed a solo home run in Mitchell's five-run fourth inning. Brooklyn Schlimgen also had a big game, collecting two hits and three RBIs.

In the first game on Saturday, the Kernels fell in walk-off fashion to Sturgis 5-4. Tied 3-all heading into the fourth, Malia Reitzel scored on an error to give Mitchell a 4-3 advantage. Jennings kept the Scoopers at bay heading into the seventh and final inning.

However, Carsyn Anderson homered for Sturgis to tie the game at 4-all. Then, an error gave the Scoopers a base runner and another error in the outfield two batters later gave them the 5-4 victory.

The Kernels opened their two-day stint on Friday at Rapid City Stevens, falling 16-5. Despite scoring first to go up 1-0, Mitchell surrendered eight runs to Stevens in the bottom half of the inning, creating an early 8-1 deficit.

The Raiders added six runs over the next two innings while the Kernels mustered two across the plate to make it 14-3. Mitchell added two more in the fourth, but so did Stevens and the game was over after five innings of play.

The Kernels (5-8) return home to face Harrisburg next on Tuesday, May 13 in Mitchell. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m.