Photos: Bri Duerre
WATERTOWN, S.D. — The Yankton pitching threw lights out as the Bucks secured a doubleheader sweep with 2-0 and 4-1 victories over Watertown on Sunday.
Yankton 2, Watertown 0
Beck Ryken delivered a masterful performance on the mound, pitching a complete-game shutout to lead Yankton to a 2-0 victory over Watertown in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader.
Ryken was in control throughout, scattering five hits and striking out five batters without allowing a run. While Ryken dominated the mound, the Yankton offense capitalized on defensive miscues. Watertown committed six errors in the contest, two of which came in the second inning to extend the frame and allow the Bucks to plate the only two runs of the game.
Photo: Bri Duerre for WTNSports.com
Sam Gokie, Jackson Kudera, and Gavin Johnson each recorded a hit for Yankton in the win.
Jackson McClemans suffered a tough-luck loss for Watertown despite a stellar outing. McClemans allowed just two runs on three hits while racking up eight strikeouts. The Watertown offense saw hits from Jonathan Lake, Sam Olson, Markus Pitkin, Cole Hansen, and Carter Buisker.
Yankton 4, Watertown 1
The dominant pitching for Yankton continued into the nightcap as Sam Gokie struck out 10 batters to lead the Bucks to a 4-1 win and a doubleheader sweep of Watertown.
Gokie was nearly untouchable, allowing just one run on three hits, facing the minimum number of batters in four separate innings.
Yankton’s offense featured hits from Ryken, Gokie, Easton Feser, Gavin Johnson, Tate Beste, and Steven Hunhoff.
Watertown’s lone run came in the fourth inning when Markus Pitkin led off with a triple and was driven home one batter later by a Jonathan Lake RBI single. Carter Buisker added the only other hit for Watertown.
“Hats off to Yankton,” said Watertown Coach Ryan Neale. “We knew they were a good team and their pitching staff. That was their one-two from the mound. That’s kind of what we expected with Yankton returning a bunch of guys from last year.”
Tripp Jorgenson took the loss for Watertown, allowing three runs on six hits over five innings of work.
“Tripp is a guy that we see a lot of upside in,” Neale said. “His last two outings, he’s faced Harrisburg and Yankton, two of the probably three or four best teams, and he’s given us chances to win.”
Up Next
Watertown (7-7) wraps up the high school regular season next weekend at home, facing O’Gorman on Friday and Sioux Falls Washington on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on Post 17 TV on YouTube.
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