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2008 South Dakota American
Legion State 'A' Tournament

Schmidt powers Mitchell to victory with offense, pitching

Jason Schmidt pitched four innings of near perfect relief to lead Mitchell to victory.    

    ABERDEEN -- Jason Schmidt played nearly as perfect of a game as possible on Thursday night, and in doing so led his Mitchell Post 18 team to a 6-5 victory over Sioux Falls West in winners' bracket action. Schmidt went 3-4 at the plate, scored a pair of runs - including the game winner - and worked four innings of no-hit relief.
    The game was back and forth throughout, with the teams trading the lead five times on the night. However, Mitchell always had the answer for Sioux Falls.
    Sioux Falls West struck first on a first-inning RBI single by Sam Lind, plating Brian Duxbury. Mitchell would retaliate in the bottom half of the inning, however, as two Ryan Hander walks would turn into runs on a two-out single by Kyle Larson.
    Sioux Falls West would strike again in the third inning to tie the game at two, only to have Mitchell post two runs of their own, making the score 4-2.
    West would come through yet again in the fourth, this time pushing two runs across on back-to-back RBI singles by Duxbury and Spencer Taylor. Mitchell regained the lead at 5-4 with a Mike Larson double followed by a Sean Devries RBI single.
    After Sioux Falls West posted a run in the fifth inning, Mitchell went to Schmidt for relief who retired the six first batters he faced and only allowed three base runners in four innings. 
    Mitchell, who has now won its last seven games in a row, will take on Rapid City Post 320 at 7:30 P.M. Friday night in a battle of the two unbeaten squads remaining in the tournament. Sioux Falls West will face elimination against Rapid City Post 22 at 5:00 P.M. on Friday.