Riders Drop Two in Heartbreaking Fashion to Post 320

RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Gillette Riders fell twice on the road this past weekend to Post 320, as the Stars extended their win streak over the Riders to three games. After a 9-4 win in the first matchup, Post 320 secured back-to-back walk-off victories in the weekend series.

Game 1

The Riders struck first, scoring a run in the top of the first inning. However, the Stars responded with two runs in the bottom half. Both teams were held scoreless until Post 320 added a run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.

Gillette answered in the sixth with two runs to tie the game at 3-3, then tacked on another in the top of the seventh to take a 4-3 lead. The Stars, however, rallied with two runs in a bases-loaded situation to walk it off.

Assistant coach Sam Sterns said missed opportunities late proved costly.

“You can’t give up free bases and free outs in those innings,” Sterns said. “We had chances in both games, and you have to lock in more and make the plays late.”

Seth Petersen took the loss in relief for Gillette, while Post 320’s Andres Lockhart earned the win.

Game 2

Game two started as a pitchers’ duel between Gillette’s Karver Partlow and Post 320’s Nick Wald. The Riders again scored first with two runs in the third inning, but the Stars exploded for five runs in the bottom half to take the lead.

Post 320 added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to stretch their advantage to 7-2. Facing a five-run deficit in the seventh, Gillette mounted a furious rally. Petersen led off with his first home run of the season, and the Riders capitalized on a pair of hit batters and timely hits to eventually tie the game at 7-7.

In extra innings, Gillette pushed across a run to go ahead 8-7, but for the second straight game, the Stars loaded the bases and walked it off, winning 9-8.

Sterns credited the Riders for their fight in the late innings.

“Good job of fighting back in the seventh with some really good at-bats,” Sterns said. “We had a chance again to put ourselves in a position to win and just didn’t get the job done.”

Ethan Hecker took the loss for Gillette, while Colton Mehlhaff picked up the win for Post 320.

Sterns said the Riders need to sharpen their offensive execution moving forward.

“A lot of off-time swings, a lot of not getting the barrel to the ball,” Sterns said. “There’s a lot of aspects we have to get a little bit better at.”

The Riders will look to bounce back Tuesday on the road against Sturgis, with first pitches scheduled for 5 and 7:30 p.m.