The Aberdeen Smittys built a five-run lead, lost it, then scored five two-run outs to cap off an 11-6 win over Lake Norden in high school baseball action Saturday afternoon at Fossum Field.

The Smittys were cruising along with a 5-0 lead through the first six innings, then found themselves staring at 6-5 deficit heading into the bottom of the eighth inning before plating six runs.

“I’m really proud of the way the boys responded after losing the lead in the eighth,” said Smittys coach Brandon Kusler. “Nobody pushed the panic button, and we just found a way to get some runs across in the bottom half.”

Aberdeen tied the score on a hit batter with the bases loaded, and then scored five more runs after two were out. Zane Backous drove in one run with a bases-loaded walk and then Cooper Eisenbeisz drove in three with a bases-loaded double. The final run then came in on a wild pitch.

The Smittys jumped on top early with two runs in the opening inning, one coming in on a Jaiden Smith single.

Aberdeen then added three more runs in the sixth, two of them plated on triples by Casey Vining and Brendan Livermont.

Gavyn Jaragoske kept Lake Norden in check for a good share of the game, before the Smittys defense opened the door to allow the visitors to rally.

“I’m really proud of the way Jaragoske competed on the mound,” Kusler said. “He was really solid through 6.2 innings. We still need to clean some things up defensively. We gave up six runs today, yet none of them were earned because of our sloppy defensive play. We’re going to get back to work on that piece and get ready for Yankton on Wednesday.”

Eisenbeisz finished with a pair of hits and knocked in three to lead the victory.

Lake Norden 000 000 240 – 6 9 2

Aberdeen Smittys 200 003 06x – 11 6 5

Ryker Warrington, Dawson Noem (6) and C. Stormo; Gavyn Jaragoske, Cooper Eisenbeisz (7), Jackson Welke (9) and Andrew Ristau-Richardson. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Eisenbeisz. 3B – Aberdeen Smittys, Casey Vining, Brendan Livermont.