STURGIS, SD – The Sturgis Scoopers were plagued by mistakes late in both games of a doubleheader against Pierre on Sunday at Strong Field, losing both games to the #7 ranked Governors, 8-4 in game one and 7-0 in game two.

The Govs led 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning in game one when rain showers rolled in, causing a 20-minute rain delay. Pierre added one run in the top of the fifth to take a 2-0 lead. The Scoopers cut into the Governor lead when Ethan Cermak crossed home plate with two outs. Sturgis then went on a two-out rally, plating three more runs to take a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning.

The Pierre bats got hot in the sixth and seventh innings and the Govs added six runs to lead 8-4 headed into the bottom of the seventh. Jace Thurman cracked a single with two outs, trying to generate some offense, but relief pitcher Bridger Babcock closed out the game, giving Pierre the comeback victory.

Babcock earned the win for Pierre, giving up two hits and no runs over 2 1/3 innings of work. The Govs had 10 hits and were led by Carter Schieffelbein and Sutton Sonnenschein with two hits apiece. Brody Royer took the loss for Sturgis, who outhit Pierre with 11 hits. Elijah Stroud went 3-for-4 at the dish, with two singles and a double. The Scoopers had seven errors in the game.

Game two was a pitcher’s duel, featuring Cael Pool from Sturgis and Carter Templeton from Pierre. Both right handers kept batters on their heels, and the game was scoreless until the top of the sixth inning. The Govs took advantage of four Sturgis errors in the inning and scored seven runs on four hits to take a 7-0 lead that they would not relinquish.

Pierre pitcher Carter Templeton was virtually unhittable, fanning 12 Scooper batters in a complete game shutout. Templeton gave up only one hit and walked two batters on 94 pitches. The Govs had 11 hits and were led by Sonnenschein, who went 3-for-4 at the dish with two runs batted in. Pierre improved to 19-5 on the season.

Cael Pool took the loss for Sturgis. Pool surrendered 11 hits throughout six innings, striking out three and walking none. Logan Royer had the lone hit for Sturgis in the bottom of the seventh. The Scoopers finished with four errors.

Sturgis (7-6) is on a five-game losing streak and face their rival, the Spearfish Spartans, on Tuesday night at 7pm at the Black Hills Energy Complex in Spearfish.