WATERTOWN, S.D. — Watertown Post 17 traded big innings with Palace City Post 18 on Tuesday night, resulting in a doubleheader split at Watertown Stadium.
Palace City took the opener 8-4, while Watertown bounced back for a 6-3 victory in the nightcap.
Palace City 8, Watertown 4
Watertown struck early with a three-run first inning. Starting pitcher Kasen Jensen cruised through four frames, racking up six strikeouts before showing signs of fatigue in the fifth.
The Watertown bullpen struggled to halt Palace City’s ensuing rally. Lincoln Schutt walked two and allowed three runs before giving way to Cain Everson. In total, Watertown pitchers issued three walks and hit three batters during the frame, while Palace City capitalized with three hits to blow the game open.
Jensen finished his outing allowing four earned runs on three hits. Everson stabilized the game in relief, throwing two and two-third innings and allowing just one run on two hits.
Sam Olson paced the Arrows’ offense in game one, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Everson, Jackson McClemens, Maxx Sears and Markus Pitkin each added a hit.
“We knew we wanted to give Jensen an opportunity to give him an extended outing,” Watertown coach Ryan Neale said. “There’s no question he hadn’t thrown that many pitches. We knew it was a matter of time before he fatigued and he just ran out of gas. We also weren’t able to support him and stop the bleeding in the fifth.”
Five different Palace City players recorded a hit in the opener: Ethan Hegg, Kaiden Allen, Dawson Adams, Jaxson Hartman and Brennen Penne. Tyler Christensen earned the complete-game victory, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking three.
Watertown 6, Palace City 3
Watertown flipped the script in game two, using a five-run second inning to secure the win.
Carter Buisker led a eight-hit attack for the Arrows, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBIs. McClemens and Ashton Rabine each tallied two hits to support starting pitcher Tripp Jorgenson.
Jorgenson turned in a dominant performance, scattering eight hits over six innings. He struck out eight and kept Palace City scoreless until the sixth inning, when Post 18 pushed across its only three runs. Buisker pitched a scoreless seventh to close out the game.
“Tripp Jorgenson was outstanding for us there again, giving us six strong innings,” Neale said. “He kept them in check. We’ll gladly take a 3-and-1 record out of these last four games.”
Allen and Hegg each collected two hits for Palace City in the nightcap. Ian Weber took the loss, allowing six runs on three hits in his starting assignment before giving way to relievers Allen and Quinten Wilson.
Up Next
Watertown (21-10, 6-2) now enters a heavy stretch of road and tournament play, beginning with a trip to Yankton for the Lewis and Clark Tournament from June 5–7.
The weekend itinerary includes a conference matchup against host Yankton on Saturday night.
“It will be great to just be able to relax a little bit and not feel as tense as we have been the last week and a half ever since we lost in the state championship game,” Neale said. “We will go have some fun, enjoy and play some different teams.”
WTNSports.com 