DICKINSON, ND – The Badlands Big Sticks (20-17 overall, 2-1 second half) opened the road series against the Minot Hot Tots (14-25 overall, 1-2 second half) with a back and forth affair, but ultimately were able to win 13-10 in extra innings on Thursday evening.

 

The Big Sticks got the scoring started in the top of the 1st inning when Gavyn Schlotterback (Kansas) slashed the first of his four hits on the evening, doubling into left field to score Dakota Howard (Southeastern).

 

Schlotterback then continued the scoring in the top of the third inning. After Howard reached on a single and Dylan Myrow (Nebraska) was hit by a pitch, Schlotterback came up and hit a three-run home run over the left field wall. Tallying his second, third, and fourth RBI, he also put the Big Sticks up 4-0.

 

The Hot Tots countered in the bottom of the 3rd inning, grabbing their first run of the ballgame on an RBI double from Sohrab Rezaei to cut the lead to 4-1.

 

After a scoreless 4th and 5th inning, the Big Sticks added another run to the tally in the bottom of the 6th inning when Gamaliel Jones (Angelo State) took off from third base on a 3-1 count to Jackson Cionek (East Tennessee State).

 

The pitch was taken for a ball, and Jones slid into home safely, successfully stealing home. That steal of home marks the second time Badlands has stolen home this season.

Minot answered back with a two-run single off the bat of Colton Kirkham, the first two of his four RBIs on the night for the Hot Tots, which cut the deficit to 5-3.

 

The Big Sticks grabbed another run in the top of the 7th inning when Schlotterback collected his fourth hit of the game, singling into right field and scoring Myrow. Schlotterback’s fifth RBI of the evening extended the lead to 6-3.

 

Then, in the bottom of the 7th inning, the floodgates opened for Minot. Christian Stratis opened the ledger with an RBI single, then Chris Daniels walked with the bases loaded to drive home another. Kirkham then came up and hit another two-run single to take the lead, then Kole Dudding supplied another RBI with a single to extend the Minot lead to 8-6.

 

The Big Sticks retaliated by adding one more run in the top of the 8th inning when Samson Pugh (Texas State) hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Myrow. But the Hot Tots got the run back in the bottom half of the 8th inning with a solo home run from Alex Altmann, making the score 9-7.

 

But Badlands refused to go away. With two outs in the top of the 9th inning and Nathan Nance Jr. (NW FL State JC) on base, Howard blasted a game-tying two-run home run into right field, evening the score at 9-9 and forcing extra innings.

 

In the top of the 10th inning, Myrow was placed on second base as the ghost runner, and later scored on a wild pitch to take the lead. The Minot pitcher continued to have command issues, as John Youens (Baylor) scored on a dropped third strike, then Pugh and Cougar Cooke (Arkansas State) both scored on a wild pitch, putting the Big Sticks lead at 13-9.

 

Schlotterback, who came in to pitch in the 7th inning, was able to secure the victory, giving up just one run on an Altmann groundout before striking out the last batter of the game, earning the victory and finishing off a 13-10 win.

 

The Big Sticks secure the Battle of the Badlands rivalry trophy with the win, expanding the series lead on the Minot Hot Tots to 7-2 this season. They look to continue the domination on Friday evening against Minot, with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 p.m. MST.