PARKSTON, S.D. – The Parkston Mudcats amateur baseball team opened Sunshine League play with a bang on Sunday.

Despite falling behind first in the second inning, the Mudcats took control for the rest of the game, opening league play with a 13-3 victory in only eight innings of play.

Platte opened the scoring in the second, but Parkston responded with seven unanswered runs over the next three frames, scoring two in the second and third with three in the fourth. The Killer Tomatoes got one run back in the fifth to make it 7-2, but a five-run sixth inning gave the Mudcats a 12-2 lead.

Platte scored one in the seventh, but Parkston responded with one in the eighth to end the affair after only eight innings.

Mudcat pitcher Jake Weber got the start and pitched five innings, allowing eight hits, two earned runs and striking out 10. He also picked up the victory. Max Scott pitched three innings in relief, striking out seven while only allowing one earned run.

Luke Bormann went 2-for-5 at the dish, picking up four runs batted in and scoring one run. Kaleb Weber also had two hits and drove in three runs of his own. Scott also had two hits, driving in two.

For the Killer Tomatoes, Hayden Kuiper had two hits and an RBI, while Jimmy DeWaard had one hit and an RBI.

The Mudcats (2-0) hit the road next to face Alexandria on Thursday, May 15, while the Killer Tomatoes (0-1) also travel to Alexandria on Sunday, May 18.

Rays win low-scoring affair over Angels

ALEXANDRIA, S.D. – The other Parkston amateur team, the Rays, also opened up Sunshine League play with a road victory.

Led by a strong three-pitcher performance, Parkston defeated the Alexandria Angels 3-2. The Rays relied on three pitchers, who all pitched at least two innings, to open up league play on a positive note.

The Rays went in front first, 1-0, in the third before the Angels responded with a two-run fifth to go up by a run. However, the Rays hit back with two runs in the sixth as neither team scored in the final three innings of play.

Nolan Dvorak pitched the most of the three Rays pitchers, going 4 2/3 innings while allowing one earned run and striking out five. He was also the winning pitcher. Ty Neugebauer pitched 2 1/3 innings and Jake Helleloid pitched two. Landon Sudbeck and Caden Donahue each had two hits, but all three of the Rays' runs were unearned.

Jackson Jarding had two hits and a run scored for the Angels and Tyson Gau picked up their only RBI of the day. Alex Ferrin got the start, going six innings deep while allowing three earned runs and striking out 10.

The Rays (1-1) travel to face Winner/Colome next on Thursday, May 15, while the Angels (1-1) have the Parkston Mudcats at home on the same day.