Post 18 threw 147 pitches, in part due to issuing nine walks. The free passes and seven errors helped the Riders score 14 runs, despite only recording seven hits.
During a week with five games and three straight days of play -- which continues with a 5 p.m. doubleheader at Huron today -- throwing strikes is an area that needs to return to the level it showed when it went 3-1 at the Dakota Classic last weekend.
“My biggest takeaway is we threw way too many pitches,” Post 18 coach Luke Norden said. “... We’re playing against high school kids that are going to make the same mistakes we do. Put the ball in play. We have to have the ball in the strike zone knowing we got five games this week.”
Peyton Nash threw 85 pitches over a three-inning start, allowing six hits, three walks and seven runs (five earned). Austin Kerr needed 62 pitches for the final two innings, giving up seven runs (one earned) on six walks and a hit. They combined to throw a strike on 54.4 percent of pitches.
Norden couldn’t pinpoint a specific difference from the Dakota Classic, when Mitchell (4-5) tossed a shutout and allowed three or fewer runs in its other two wins. Post 18 issued eight walks during its three wins (62.8 strike percentage), though walked eight batters in its lone loss (54.5 strike percentage).
“We were way more efficient over the weekend. Guys went out and threw a lot of strikes,” Norden said. “... Just didn’t see the competitive edge like we did this weekend. If I’m going to get up on the mound, I have to get up there and grit my teeth and say I’m going to get a guy out and help my team get off the field.”
Mitchell’s struggles crept onto the field and into the batter’s box, too. It committed a season-high seven errors, which led to eight unearned runs and sparked Gillette’s six-run fourth inning which saw Post 18 commit three errors.
It also didn’t break up the shutout until the fifth when Parker Bollinger drove in two runs and Jake Helleloid hit an RBI single. Mitchell finished with five hits, including Kerr going 2-for-3 with a double.
“When you can’t throw strikes and you can’t field the ball, then you bring that into the dugout, which is unfortunate guys took that up to bat with them,” Norden said. “They bring that stuff into the dugout and they take it up to their at-bat and they just have a defeated attitude after.”
It was the latest contest on a difficult start to the season. Mitchell opened with back-to-back doubleheaders traveling across the state, with a matchup against perennial powerhouse Rapid City Post 22 and Pierre Post 8, which is 5-3. Gillette is 19-3 and swept Post 22 earlier this year, as well.
At the tail end of a nine-game stretch in seven days, Norden wants to see five-inning games go in Post 18’s favor. It’d save the pitching staff and show the consistent competitive edge that was missing Tuesday.
“I’d like to see us play five innings, and not the five innings we played tonight and get beat by 11,” Norden said. “... That’s what I’d like to see because that means we brought focus and we put the gas pedal down and didn’t stop. We went out and threw strikes to get out of innings. If we go out and play a couple of five-inning games, that’s huge on our pitching staff.”
Mitchell played at Huron on Wednesday, but the doubleheader didn’t finish when this edition was sent to print. Check mitchellrepublic.com for a complete game recap.
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June 18, 2020 at 01:00AM
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Mitchell Post 18 hopes to throw more strikes, clean up errors - The Daily Republic
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