OMAHA, Neb. – The Aberdeen Smittys split with a pair of out-of-state squads to open their Battle of Omaha tournament in American Legion baseball action on Thursday.

The Smittys scored in every inning of a 13-2 win over the Dupage Maddogs out of Illinois, and the fell 6-2 to the Franchise Sidekicks out of Nebraska.

Aberdeen took advantage of 10 hits, seven walks, and eight stolen bases in the victory over Dupage.

“We came ready to play game one with some timely hits,” said Aberdeen coach Josh Steinwandt, “and our pitching threw a ton of strikes with multiple pitches and made them get out. Overall, the boys played very good and it was good to get a win in Omaha.”

The Smittys opened the scoring in the top of the first when Karson Borge tripled and scored on a single by Jackson Post.

Joe Cogley walked and scored on a double by Bennett Eisenbeisz in the second inning.

The Smittys then broke the game open with eight runs in the third. Borge had a two-run single in that frame. Cogley had run-producing singles in the third and the fourth.

Drake Soderlund, Wheeler Malsam, and Donovan Kiesow combined to limit Dupage to just three hits during the contest.

Borge and Cogley both finished with two hits and drove in a pair.

Aberdeen managed just two runs on six hits against Franchise.

The Smittys scored a run in the top of the second when JaSean Rivera doubled in Soderlund. Aberdeen added another run in the seventh on three straight singles to start the inning from Malsam, Jeheil Aviles, and Borge. However, a double play quickly put a damper on the rally.

Franchise scored six of its runs in the bottom of the second frame when the squad bunched together five of its nine total hits.

“Bennett Eisenbeisz pitched a great game going five inning for us and didn’t give up any earned runs,” Steinwandt said.

However, that second inning proved to be too much for the Smittys to overcome.

“The bottom of the second inning killed us as we got the first two outs, then a bloop hit that landed behind the third baseman, then an error occurred, and they strung a couple hits together and that turned in to a six-run inning,” Steinwandt said. “One inning that killed us and when we give great teams like that extra outs, it will be to recover. Overall, proud of the way the boys played today, and we’re ready for two (Friday).”

The Smittys will play at 2 and 4:30 this afternoon.

Aberdeen Smittys 118 21 – 13 10 0

Dupage Maddogs 010 01 – 2 3 2

Drake Soderlund, Wheeler Malsam (3), Donovan Kiesow (5) and Levi Hoffman; Dupage battery not available. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Bennett Eisenbeisz, Branson Peterson. 3B – Aberdeen Smittys, Karson Borge.

Aberdeen Smittys 010 000 1 – 2 6 3

Franchise Sidekicks 060 001 x – 7 9 3

Bennett Eisenbeisz, Porter Lozenski (6) and Levi Hoffman; Max Teetor, Day (6) and Connor Michaelis. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, JaSean Rivera.