It was a game of ups and downs for the Aberdeen Smittys at Fossum Field on Friday night.

The Smittys built a big lead before needing to pull away for a 17-7 win over the Jamestown Eagles in American Legion baseball action.

The Smittys began the game firing on all cylinders. After forcing three consecutive outs on defense, the Smittys’ offense went to work. Casey Vining tripled in the bottom of the first, driving in Drew Salfrank and Phillip Zens to give the Smittys a 2-0 lead. Vining’s triple provided the spark that helped the Smittys score six runs in the opening inning.

“We all came to the field to play today and we got the bats going early in the first inning with six runs,” Vining said. “We just kind of kept the momentum, scoring every inning, even if it was one run (or) four runs, it just didn’t matter.”

Smittys coach Brandon Kusler was also pleased with how the team started the game.

“That was huge for us to come out hot like we did,” Kusler said. “Whenever you can come out and score right away in the first inning, that’s always good.”

The Smittys added two more runs in the second inning to take a commanding 8-0 lead. But Jamestown made a run of its own, outscoring the Smittys 7-3 between the third and fifth innings, cutting Aberdeen’s lead to 11-7.

Kusler said Jamestown capitalized on several Smittys mistakes that allowed the Eagles to climb back into the game.

“They’re a really good team. They’re a good offensive team, and we didn’t make some plays there in the middle innings and they capitalized on them,” Kusler said. “That’s what good teams do, but we kept our foot on the gas pedal offensively and I’m glad we did.”

Vining said the team had to keep their heads in the game and continue to fight despite Jamestown’s comeback efforts.

“(We couldn’t) get down on ourselves,” Vining said. “That happened last year a little bit. We kind of got down on ourselves. We were like ‘Oh, we’re kind of just going to throw the game away.’ Now, this year we’ve kind of learned to put things together and finish as a team.”

The Smittys were able to put things together and finish as a team on Friday. They scored four runs in the sixth inning, as Salfrank got the scoring going with an RBI single, before Zens later smacked a two-RBI triple. Zens later scored on an RBI double from Vining, giving the Smittys a 15-7 lead heading into the seventh inning.

Vining then delivered a two-run single to left field, driving Salfrank and Zane Backous home to end the game on the 10-run rule.

Kusler was proud of the adjustments his team made down the stretch.

“Guys (were) sticking to our approach and hitting balls hard and getting base runners on,” Kusler said. “A lot of different guys contributing all day long. I know Casey Vining had a big day at the plate, but a lot of guys had good days at the plate.”

Vining led the Smittys on the mound and at the plate. He pitched 4.3 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits, while striking out two and walking three. At the plate, Vining had four hits and drove in six runs. Salfrank had three hits and two RBI, Ethan Kjenstad had two hits and two RBI, while Zens also drove in two runs.

The Smittys tallied a total of 15 hits, while Jamestown had eight.

The Smittys (11-7) now turn their attention to a familiar foe on Sunday as the team travels to Mitchell for a doubleheader against Post 18, the team that ended the Smittys season last year in the playoffs. Kusler said the team can carry momentum into Sunday.

“We’ve got two big ones against Mitchell. They beat us four times last year,” Kusler said. “They knocked us out of the playoffs, so we just talked to our guys. They’re all going to come motivated on Sunday and ready to go get two wins.”

Vining said the team needs to stay motivated and continue playing well.

“We just have to come ready to play,” Vining said. “If we keep the offense going, if we keep throwing strikes, we’ll be alright.”

Jamestown Eagles 001 240 0 – 7 8 6

Aberdeen Smittys 621 114 2 – 17 15 3

Casey Vining, Cooper Eisenbeisz (5), Andrew Ristau-Richardson (7) and Andrew Woehl; Jaxon Kolpin, R. Sortlund (2), Tyson Jorrisen (4), B. Goehner (6), B. Roaldson (7) and E. Gall. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Vining; Jamestown, Payton Hochalter (3). 3B – Aberdeen Smittys, Vining, Zane Backous; Jamestown, T. Newman, Jacob Webster.