The Spearfish Sasquatch closed out the regular season by splitting a two-game series against the Oahe Zap, rolling to a 21-11 victory Friday before dropping a 15-11 extra-inning slugfest Saturday.
The split sends Spearfish into the postseason after an offensive weekend that saw the Sasquatch score 32 runs and pile up hits in bunches.
Friday’s opener belonged to Spearfish from the outset as the Sasquatch erupted for 21 runs in a lopsided win. The offense stayed hot throughout the night, overwhelming Oahe pitching and securing the regular season’s final victory.
Saturday’s series finale featured plenty of drama.
Spearfish struck first in the opening inning when Malakai Lopez singled home a run. Oahe tied the game in the third before taking a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning.
The Sasquatch answered immediately with a four-run bottom of the fifth. Jett Hutchinson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, Lopez added an RBI double, Sam Kwapnioski delivered an RBI single and Zach Pearrow followed with a run-scoring double to give Spearfish a 5-3 advantage.
After carrying that lead into the seventh, the Sasquatch saw the game turn when Oahe erupted for eight runs on seven hits. The inning was highlighted by a two-run homer from Ty Farwell that helped the Zap take an 11-7 lead.
Spearfish refused to go away. Pearrow delivered the biggest hit of the comeback effort, blasting a game-tying home run in the eighth inning to knot the score at 11-11 and force extra innings.
The Zap finally broke through in the 10th. Gavin Fraser drew a bases-loaded walk to score the go-ahead run before Connor Goldberg added a run-scoring double as Oahe pulled away for the 15-11 win.
Despite the loss, Spearfish collected 17 hits.
Lopez led the Sasquatch offense, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Bo Iandoli was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, while Pearrow, Crew Moeller and Jackson Martin each recorded multiple hits.
On the mound, Hayden Leighty started and worked five innings, allowing three runs while striking out six. Kwapnioski took the loss in relief.
Oahe finished with 20 hits, led by Goldberg’s four-hit, four-RBI performance. Emmanuel Ealey also recorded four hits for the Zap.
With the regular season complete, the Sasquatch now turn their attention to the postseason. Spearfish will open playoff action at home on Friday, July 31.
