A pair of Aberdeen Smittys streaks were in a slight bit of jeopardy on Friday afternoon at Fossum Field, but the home team was able to keep both in tact.

The Smittys extended their winning streak to a dozen games, and their double-digit run total to eight straight games with a pair of American Legion baseball wins over Rapid City Post 320. The first game was tied 6-6 before Aberdeen scored four unanswered in a 10-6 win. The Smittys led the second game 5-3 before exploding for seven runs in the sixth inning of a 12-3 victory.

“I had full confidence in my guys, too. They’ve been playing so well recently,” said Aberdeen coach Nathan Gonnelly. “I had full confidence; sometimes it just takes a while to get started, but once we started there’s no stopping us. They did a fantastic job today.”

The Smittys continue to produce up and down their lineup by putting quality at-bats together, usually resulting in hits or walks.

“Our pitch selection is, we go up there and hunt for the pitch that we like the most,” said Jackson Welke, who had three hits and drove in three runs in the doubleheader. “It depends on the guy, and if you don’t like it, you don’t swing at it.”

Welke said if there are guys on base, it alters the approach a bit in the batter’s box.

“If there’s runners in scoring position, you’re just trying to get the ball in play,” Welke said.

The Smittys racked up 21 hits in the two games, just one for extra-bases, which is just fine with Gonnelly.

“I tell them all the time, On Base Percentage and OPS (On-base Plus Slugging) is just a huge factor. If you get on base, you allow guys if they do hit or if they do walk, we just keep on moving guys around,” Gonnelly said. “They’ve done a fantastic job of getting on base and we’ve done a great job of just putting the ball in play as well, so it’s been pretty good for us.”

Phillip Zens and Grant Beyer each had RBI hits in a six-run first inning in the opener.

Casey Vining, and Brendan Livermont each drove in runs with singles, before Welke delivered a two-run single as the Smittys scored four times in the fourth for the final margin of difference.

Aberdeen was clinging to a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth in the second game.

“We got in the dugout and just pretty much said that we need to put a few more on the board, and make sure we get the W,” Welke said.

The Smittys did just that with seven runs to take control.

Jaxon Ladner and Talan Dutenhoeffer each had two-run singles to highlight the frame.

Aberdeen, 13-3 on the season, now has a four-day break after playing 11 games in the past eight days.

“This is what we’ve been looking forward to since a couple of months ago, since March,” Gonnelly said, “saying, ‘hey can we get outside and play some baseball?’ And since this time is here, we’ve taken full advantage of it and the boys love it.”

The Smittys host Sioux Falls Post 15 on Wednesday in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Fossum Field, before heading to the four-day Dakota Classic, which will feature some top-notch competition.

“It’s going to be tough,” Welke said of the classic, “but if we go up there with our same approach that we’ve had, we’re going to put a lot of runs on the board, and our pitchers are going to back us up with strikes, defense is going to make plays, and I think we have a shot.”

Rapid City Post 320 110 400 0 – 6 7 2

Aberdeen Smittys 600 400 – 10 8 1

Alijah Ballard, Noland Williamson (4) and Maxon Speed; Zane Backous, Joran Foss, Jaxon Ladner (5) and Talan Dutenhoeffer. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Phillip Zens.

Rapid City Post 320 000 012 0 – 3 7 2

Aberdeen Smittys 103 017 x – 12 13 0

Jhett Peterson, Tegan Sayles (4), Porter Muck (7) and Jonah Blake; Casey Vining and Talan Dutenhoeffer. 2B – Rapid City Post 320, Sayles.