Watertown Post 17 and Palace City Post 18 Split Doubleheader

Photo credit: Bri Duerre for WTNSports.com

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Big innings were the story of the night at Watertown Stadium on Tuesday, as Watertown Post 17 and Palace City Post 18 traded explosive frames to secure a doubleheader split.

Palace City capitalized on a late-game collapse to take the opener 8-4, but the Arrows flipped the script in the nightcap, riding a dominant pitching performance to bounce back with a 6-3 victory.

Game 1: Palace City 8, Watertown 4

Watertown struck first, jumping out to a quick lead with a three-run first inning. For the first four frames, Arrows starting pitcher Kasen Jensen looked entirely in control, cruising through the Palace City lineup and racking up six strikeouts.

However, the wheels came off for Watertown at the top of the fifth as fatigue set in for Jensen. The Watertown bullpen struggled heavily to stop the bleeding. Reliever Lincoln Schutt issued two walks and was charged with three runs before being replaced by Cain Everson. In total, Arrows pitchers walked three and hit three batters in the frame, while Palace City combined the free passes with three timely hits to blow the game wide open.

Jensen finished his outing, allowing four earned runs on three hits. Everson provided much-needed stability in relief, throwing 2.2 innings and allowing just one run on two hits.

Sam Olson paced the Arrows’ offense in the loss, 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.”

Palace City’s balanced attack saw Ethan Hegg, Kaiden Allen, Dawson Adams, Jaxson Hartman, and Brennen Penne all record hits. Tyler Christensen earned the complete-game victory on the mound, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking three.

Game 2: Watertown 6, Palace City 3

The Arrows wasted no time responding in the nightcap, using a massive five-run second inning to establish an early cushion they wouldn’t relinquish.

Carter Buisker led an aggressive eight-hit offensive attack for Watertown, finishing the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs. McClemens and Ashton Rabine each tallied two hits to provide plenty of run support for starting pitcher Tripp Jorgenson.

Jorgenson turned in a stellar performance on the bump. He scattered eight hits over six dominant innings, racking up eight strikeouts and keeping Palace City completely off the scoreboard until the sixth inning, when Post 18 finally pushed across three runs. Buisker then moved from the field to the mound, throwing a scoreless seventh inning to slam the door and earn the save.

“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.”

Kaiden Allen and Ethan Hegg each collected two hits for Palace City in the nightcap. Ian Weber suffered the loss, allowing six runs on three hits in his starting assignment before turning the ball over to relievers Allen and Quinten Wilson.

Up Next

Now sitting at 21-10 overall (6-2 in conference), Watertown enters a grueling stretch of road games and tournament play. The stretch begins this weekend with a trip to Yankton for the Lewis and Clark Tournament from June 5–7.

The weekend schedule features a highly anticipated conference matchup against host Yankton on Saturday night. After an intense stretch of baseball following a recent postseason run, Coach Neale is looking forward to the road trip as an opportunity for his squad to reset.

“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.”