STURGIS, SD – Despite strong starts in both games, the Sturgis Post 33 Titan baseball squad lost both games of a doubleheader against the Gillette Riders on Thursday night at Strong Field.

The Titans scored four runs in the first two innings in game one, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, until the Riders plated two runs in the third and two more in the fourth to tie the game.

Drew Janke tripled in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring Blake Kaufman, Jack Jolley and Jeren Andrezjewski to give Post 33 a 7-4 lead. Janke scored on a passed ball, and Sturgis led 8-4 headed into the sixth. Gillette took advantage of Titan errors to plate a run in the top of the sixth and four more in the top of the seventh to secure the 10-8 win.

The Riders pounded out 10 hits and were led by Riley Hawk, Kaesin Wood and Carmine Newman with two hits each. Gillette stole six bases and committed five errors in game one. Sturgis finished with seven hits, three errors and three stolen bases. Kaufman swung the bat well, going 3-for-5 with a triple and five total bases.

In game two, Post 33 started with five base hits, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first to take a quick 5-0 lead. Gillette chipped away at the Titan lead and tied the game at 5 in the fourth inning.

The Sturgis bats got quiet in the late innings of game two. The Riders scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to lead 11-5. The Titans made a valiant effort in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs on an RBI double by Kjell Sundstrom and an RBI single by Vin Vatne but it wasn’t enough and the Riders took home the 11-8 win.

Post 33 had a great game at the plate, collecting 11 hits. Brody Royer, Vatne and Sundstrom had two hits each. Ethan Cermak pitched 4 2/3 innings in game two, striking out nine, walking two and giving up seven hits. The Titans committed two errors in the field. Gillette was led by Riley Hawk, who went 3-for-4 at the dish with three runs scored.

The Titans fell to 4-7 on the season and head south to the Nebraska panhandle for the weekend to take part in the Chadron Wood Bat Tournament.