Granite take two from Chadron

The Custer Granite baseball team won two on the first day of play at the brand new Custer baseball field last weekend, and to boot the wins came against Chadron, Neb., which has dominated Custer for four years by a 24-0 tally.

Both games were a toss up until the later innings. In the opener, Custer scored a run in its first at bat and four in the fourth, but Chadron came back with one in the fifth and five in the sixth to go ahead 6-5. 

Custer scored one in its half of the sixth to knot the score. The Granite loaded the bases in the bottom half of the seventh, but failed to score. The game went an extra inning (two seven-inning games were scheduled).

In the top of the seventh, with the score knotted at six, Parks Brigman came in to pitch and got six outs, striking out four and inducing two ground ball outs in his two innings of relief.

In the home half of the eighth, Chuck Moad walked, Casey Finn laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Moad to second and with none out Brigman belted a shot to the right center field wall to score Moad and win the game 7-6. Brigman was the winning pitcher.

Jaron Smith started on the mound for Custer and pitched six strong innings striking out four, leaving with the score tied at six all when Brigman relieved. Blaine Kortemeyer had a three-run double in the fourth, and Mark Lyndoe drove in a run in the first with a single to right. John Spain also drove in a run in the fourth with an infield hit.

Custer had two double plays from the outfield. In the first Moad made a web gem catch in centerfield and threw to first for the twin killing. In the second Soren Wahlstrom made an equally spectacular catch in left with a runner on first and threw him out at first for a double play.

In the second game Eli Gonzalez started for Custer. Chadron scored five times in the top of the first including a home run and three extra base hits.

Custer scored two runs in the bottom of the first and three more to tie the score in the bottom of the second. Smith came on in relief in the second and allowed two runs in three innings on one hit. Smith was the winning pitcher.

Custer scored three in the fourth to go ahead to stay at 9-7. Custer scored three more and Chadron got two in the sixth.

Eric Hiltunen came on in the fifth, allowing two runs on five hits. In to save the game came Brigman, getting the last three outs of the day. However, Chadron loaded the bases in the top on the seventh on a walk, error and catcher’s interference, but Brigman got the final out on a pop up to first.

Casey Finn was 2-4, Brigman belted a triple, followed by Lyndoe’s shot off the wall for another three base hit and RBI. Wahlstrom and Hiltunen each went 3-3. Wahlstrom had two doubles and Hiltunen one two bagger.

Next Sunday Custer travels to Pierre for a game against Pierre and one against Redfield.