BRANDON — The Mudcats clinch the final spot in the Round of 16.

Dell Rapids came out on top in a heavyweight matchup to close the opening round of the Class B amateur baseball tournament Sunday, pulling away from perennial Sunshine League powerhouse Winner/Colome, 7-2.

“As soon as the bracket comes out and you see Winner/Colome, your mind immediately goes to you’re just going to have to treat it as one game,” said Dell Rapids Mudcats manager Travis Peters. “Our mindset was going to be whatever it took to win this game and we got that done.”

In a clash of Rep. 1’s out of their respective districts, it didn’t take long for the Mudcats to take an early lead. With bases loaded and two outs in the first, Chad Hunt legged out an infield single to score the first run, with another coming across after a throwing error.

“Either way that thing turned out, a good team was going to lose today and we’re fortunate,” Peters said. “Our goal was to get out on top early, we were able to do that and I think it just relaxed everyone and set the tone for the rest of the game.”

With a two-run lead, Mudcats starting pitcher Reece Arbogast was able to limit the damage of a potent Pheasant lineup averaging over eight runs a game. In six innings of work, Arbogast limited that same offense to just two runs on nine hits and a walk, recording four strikeouts as well.

“Hats off to Reece Arbogast,” Peters said. “He’s been kind of battling a sore arm all year, has never felt like himself and he just goes out there and guts it out. He’s just such a good pitcher, it’s fun to watch him. We had our best today and I know they gave us their best and we just made a few more plays.”

Offensively, lead-off hitter and Player of the Game Ty Hoglund set the tone for the DR offense, batting 4-for-5 on the day against WC’s top-two pitchers.

“Just staying steady,” Hoglund said on his approach at the plate. “Don’t have to change the world, just put the bat on the ball and hopefully it finds a spot.”

The Pheasants cut into the Mudcat lead with a sac-fly from Austin Calhoon to score one, but the Mudcats responded with two more runs in the fourth on a sac-fly and an error. Jason Schmidt (Dimock/Emery pick-up player) drove in a run on a single to make it a 4-2 game through five innings. 

The Pheasants would only muster two more baserunners over the final four innings of play.

“We were ready for these guys simply because we know how good they are 1-9,” Hoglund said. “We didn’t overlook them at all. We knew we were going to get their best and thankfully we just scored a couple more runs than them.”

In the eighth inning, longtime Mudcats player Grant Olson got a hold of a Connor Hopkins pitch for a solo homer, with Jake Goble clearing the scoreboard in the ninth to add two more runs.

“To see Grant Olson turn one around was just awesome,” Peters said. “He’s been a great friend and a teammate for a long time so it’s just fun to see those veterans really play their best this time of year.”

Goble, who batted 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs, slammed the door on the Pheasants in the last three innings, allowing just one hit and one walk.

““They battled,” Hoglund said of the DR pitching. “They’ve played in some big moments their whole life. They were competitors today and it’s just really good to have them on our side.”

Olson batted 2-for-4 with a solo homer in the win, Carter Gullickson added an RBI and one hit while Chad Hunt recorded an RBI on a single for the Mudcats.

WC’s starting pitcher Derek Graesser allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in four innings of work in the loss, striking out two. Hopkins gave up three runs on three hits and a walk over five innings of relief, striking out seven.

Offensively, Drew DeMers and Dillon Lambley each had three hits, Schmidt recorded two hits, an RBI and a walk while Graesser added two hits as well.

“We had to play just about perfect in order to beat these guys,” Hoglund said. “We know how good they are, we know what they have. But we put a couple bats on the ball early and thankfully we got a couple runs and we just had a little cushion and kept it the whole game.”

The Dell Rapids Mudcats play the Freeman Blacksox in the second round of the Class B amateur baseball tournament Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at First National Bank Field at Aspen Park.

“The game has never not been about pitching and we’ve got a couple really, really good ones,” Peters said on Wednesday’s matchup. “Obviously it’s one game at a time, this tournament is no different than the NCAA basketball tournament: survive and advance. We’re looking forward to a good challenge on Wednesday.”