Sioux Falls won 9-3 and 13-12 over Aberdeen on Friday at Fossum Field.
The visiting team held a 4-2 lead heading into the seventh inning of the first game, but East tallied five runs in the seventh to secure the win. Austin Kost, Jared Shatto and Reed Nachtigal had two hits each for the visitors. Dayton Braley led Sioux Falls with four hits and five runs batted in. Justin Miller went the distance on the mound and picked up the win.
Lucas Lorenz topped Aberdeen with three hits and two RBIs. As a team, the Smittys totaled just six hits.
"It was a good game. We couldn't get the hits rolling," said Smittys coach Justin Downes. "We only had four hits going into the bottom of the seventh and picked up two more. They did a nice job of neutralizing our bats. (Zach) Lundquist threw good enough to win."
Both teams brought their bats to the second game and both squads had trouble handling the baseball. Sioux Falls finished the game with 11 hits and the Smittys with 16. The two teams combined for 13 errors.
"It was two totally different styles of games. Our guys definitely hit the ball well in the second game. We had the tying run on base with one out in the seventh," said Downes.
The game was a see-saw battle as East put nine runs on the board in the first two innings. The Smittys kept pace with seven runs in the opening two innings and took a 10-9 lead with three runs in the fourth. Sioux Falls grabbed the lead back at 13-10 with two runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh.
Aberdeen plated two runs in the bottom half of the seventh and had the tying run on base when the game ended.
"The first two innings bit us," said Downes. "After the first two innings, we did a nice job of coming back after putting ourselves in a hole. Zach (Andera) pitched well all night and kept them off balance. We needed to make plays those first couple of innings."
Sioux Falls leaders included Justin Miller with three hits followed by Shatto, Ethan Lynn and Matt White with two hits each.
For the Smittys, Lorenz and Dalton Cox proved to be tough outs. Lorenz had four hits and Cox added three including two doubles and a triple. Jordan Allbee stroked three hits and Matt Swallow had two.
The Aberdeen Smittys return to action in a regional matchup at Huron on Sunday with a 6 p.m. doubleheader. Aberdeen currently holds down the number one seed in the region with a 4-0 record. The first game against Huron will count in the region standings.
"This is a big region game for us," said Downes. "We need to go down and win a couple of games. We need to string together a whole game and play defense, hit the ball and throw strikes."
S.F. East 020 002 5-9 12 1
Aberdeen Smittys 200 000 1-3 6 0
Justin Miller and Matt White; Zach Lundquist, Jordan Allbee (7), Trey Vilhauer (7) and John Frisco. 2B-Sioux Falls, Austin Kost, Jared Shatto, Reed Nachtigal, Dayton Braley. 3B-Sioux Falls, Braley.
S.F. East 450 020 2-13 11 6
Aberdeen Smittys 340 300 2-12 16 7
Dayton Braley, Shatto (4), Robert Munsen (6) and Matt White; Zach Andera, Dalton Cox (7) and John Frisco. 2B-Sioux Falls, Justin Miller, Brandon Ruud, White; Aberdeen, Lucas Lorenz, Cox 2. 3B-Aberdeen, Lucas Lorenz. HR-Aberdeen, Cox.