Despite not playing up to their coach’s expectations, the Pratt 86ers picked up two wins last night in Russell, beating Russell and Beloit in their final tuneups for the Smoky Ford Invitational, which begins tonight at Smoky Ford Field in the Green Sports Complex.
In the opening game, the 86ers pounded out 13 hits in edging Russell 14-13.
Pratt scored three runs in the second, one in the fourth, three more in the fifth, one in the sixth and six in the seventh, then had to hold off a furious Russell rally in the bottom of the seventh.
Colton Matthew had three hits while Brad Richardson, Zach Richert and Jake Siroky each had two for the 86ers.
Pratt continued to hit the ball in the nightcap against Beloit, picking up a 10-4 win.
The 86ers scored two runs in the second and one in the third, but Beloit grabbed the lead with a four-run third thanks in large part to some unforced errors by the 86ers.
From there, Pratt shut them down and scored the last seven runs of the night to pull away for the win.
Richert had two of Pratt’s nine hits as eight different players had at least one base hit.
Joe Dohrmann picked up the win.
The 86ers will be back in action tonight at 8 p.m. when they begin the Smoky Ford Invitational against the Hutchinson Hawks.
The tournament will kick off with a 6 p.m. game between the Hawks and Alva, Okla. Games will continue all day Friday and Saturday, and the final four games are set for Sunday. Action begins at 10:30 a.m. each day.
The 86ers will face Osawatomie at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Alva at 5:15 p.m. Saturday in pool play.
Their Sunday game time and opponent will be determined after pool play wraps up Saturday evening. A complete tournament schedule appeared in yesterday’s Tribune.
