Mitchell baseball finishes regular season with a doubleheader split at Tea

May 9—TEA, S.D. — Mitchell High School baseball closed out its regular season by earning a split in a road doubleheader at Tea Area on Saturday, dropping the opener 5-4 before bouncing back for a 4-2 victory in Game 2.

With the split, the Kernels finish the regular season at 12-11 overall and 11-11 in Class A play. Mitchell will now await its Class A postseason assignment for the best-of-three regional tournament beginning Friday, May 15, at the higher seed. The Class A state tournament is scheduled for May 22-23 at Augustana University in Sioux Falls.

Tea Area rallied late in the opener to secure a 5-4 win after Miles Jelen delivered the decisive blow in the bottom of the sixth inning. Trailing 4-2 entering the frame, the Titans capitalized on the opportunity when Jelen ripped a three-run triple to swing the game back in Tea's favor at 5-4. MHS was unable to answer in the top of the seventh as Tea held on for the victory.

The Titans first grabbed momentum in the fourth inning. With the game tied 1-1, Jelen drove in a run on a lineout to give Tea a 2-1 advantage. Mitchell responded with its best offensive inning in the sixth. MHS plated three runs to reclaim the lead at 4-2, highlighted by a Brennen Penne RBI single and an Ian Weber RBI double down the right-field line.

Tea Area, however, answered in the bottom half of the sixth inning behind Jelen's clutch extra-base hit to seal the win.

Kaiden Allen got the start on the mound for Mitchell and turned in five innings of work. Allen allowed three runs on six hits while striking out four batters and walking four.

Offensively, MHS was limited to four hits, with Weber, Bailor Kristensen, Penne and Lincoln Bottum each recording one hit apiece. Weber and Penne each drove in a run. Mitchell showed patience at the plate throughout the opener, drawing seven walks, while also staying aggressive on the bases with seven stolen bases.

Jelen led the Tea offense with four RBIs from the No. 9 hole in the lineup, while Tyson Gilbert finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Bryson Prussman started on the mound for the Titans and worked five innings, allowing three runs on two hits while striking out eight batters and walking six.

Mitchell answered in Game 2 with a strong all-around effort to secure the split with a 4-2 victory.

MHS scored the opening run in the first inning after a Tea error before Penne followed with an RBI single down the left-field line to make it 2-0. Mitchell added to the lead in the second inning when Ethan Hegg delivered a two-run double down the left-field line, extending the advantage to 4-0.

That cushion proved enough for the MHS pitching staff, which limited Tea Area to just three hits and two runs in Game 2. Tea made a push in the fifth inning by scoring two runs, but Mitchell kept the Titans from building any momentum and held the lead the rest of the way.

Stratton Forst earned the start on the mound and worked four innings for Mitchell. The right-hander allowed one hit and one run while striking out three batters despite issuing seven walks. Bottum came on in relief and closed out the final three innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out three and walking three.