​On Tuesday night in Mount Vernon, Parkston Rays blasted five home runs and plated 22 runs over four innings in a dominating 22-0 Sunshine League win against the Mount Vernon amateurs. The contest was halted after the fourth inning by the 15-run mercy rule. Seth Muth led the Rays, going 4-for-5 with two homers, four runs scored, and seven RBIs. He delivered a grand slam in the third inning, the second four-run shot of the night after Carter Sommer’s grand slam in the second. Nolan Dvorak and Landon Sudbeck also went deep in the second inning. Jaxx Kurtenbach contributed three hits and three RBIs, while Doug Sudbeck added two hits. Sommer earned the victory on the mound, delivering three hits and shutting out Mount Vernon while striking out nine. Muth tossed a scoreless fourth inning in relief.
For Mount Vernon, Parker Mandel and Austin Graves produced the only offense with the team’s two hits. Deric Denning took the loss, yielding eight hits and nine runs over two innings. The loss marked Mount Vernon’s fifth straight defeat. Parkston, now 10-7 overall and 7-4 in the Sunshine League, is slated to host the Winner/Colome Pheasants at 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 9. Mount Vernon, holding a 3-11 record and 2-10 in league play, will welcome the Parkston Mudcats at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14.
In other Tuesday action, the Parkston Mudcats defeated Platte 12-5 in Platte. The Mudcats exploded for six runs in the second inning and added four more in the fourth, securing the road Sunshine League win. Taite Klumb hit a home run and drove in three, while Braxton Wilhelm, Gunnar Wilhelm, and Mason Jervik each tallied two RBIs, with Jervik scoring three times. Brady Albrecht collected two hits. Dillon Stadlman earned the win by pitching 3 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs. Miles Doyle and Luke Bormann then combined for 5 2/3 innings of relief, yielding two runs (one earned) as Doyle fanned seven over 4 2/3 innings. Platte out-hit Parkston 13-8, with Grayson Hanson, Richard Sternberg, Preston Nedved, and Hayden Kuiper contributing two hits apiece. Matt Link took the loss for Platte, surrendering five runs in one inning.
In Flandreau, the Flandreau Cardinals knocked off Salem 9-4. Austin Koenig and Jacob Patterson homered for Flandreau, and Bret Severtson worked eight innings, fanning eight Cubs without a walk to notch the win. Keith Cutler went 4-for-4 and drove in two runs, Koenig added a three-run homer, and Patterson finished with three hits and two RBIs. For Salem, Kyle Tuschen and Bobby Koepsell each had three hits and an RBI. Owen Alley started and took the loss after five innings, yielding nine hits and seven runs (six earned) with four strikeouts.
In Baltic, Canova routed Baltic 15-0 in five innings. The Gang exploded for 13 runs in the fourth inning to claim a convincing road victory and improve to 12-4 on the season. Justin Miller, Jack Neises, and Jackson Remmers each contributed for Canova, continuing their strong showing on the campaign.