MITCHELL — A pair of key hits and a pair of veteran pitchers lifted Dimock-Emery into the Class B state amateur baseball tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Jason Schmidt hit a two-run homer, Jonah Schmidt drove in a key late run and Josh Engquist and Phil Johnson held Kimball/White Lake to six hits, earning a 4-2 second-round win at Cadwell Park. 

Engquist started his second consecutive tournament game, lasting five innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and striking out four batters. 

“He gave us exactly what we wanted,” Dimock-Emery manager Brad Bartscher said. “We talked about getting 15 outs and getting us through five innings and he probably could have kept going. But he pitched just the other night and I wanted to give him some rest.”

Engquist received some early-run support, courtesy of Jason Schmidt, who hammered a two-run homer in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. 

But Kimball/White Lake’s Zak Wallner limited Dimock-Emery’s offensive production. Wallner threw a complete game, finishing with two earned runs on seven hits and striking out five batters on 140 pitches. 

“We knew it was probably going to be a low-scoring game and he’s a gamer,” Bartscher said. “He’s done that year after year after year. He comes out and he pounds the zone and he makes it frustrating for the hitters. He does a good job mixing it up.”

After Jason Schmidt’s two-run blast, Wallner threw six scoreless innings.  

“He was a great pitcher,” Jonah Schmidt said. “He hit a lot of spots. He mixed in speeds very well and he kept them in the game until the end. We finally got a lot of big hits and we got a couple of our guys to get on base and that was really big for us. We got a couple of big hits and that was the turning point in the game.”

Jonah Schmidt, a Parkston Devil Rays pick-up player, delivered a key hit for his Sunshine League counterparts. In the seventh inning, KWL evened the score at 2-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, Jonah Schmidt ripped a two-out RBI single, plating Engquist for the go-ahead score. 

“I got a single and coach Bartscher sent him around and that was big,” Jonah Schmidt said. “That was just a huge high for the team there.”

In the ninth, Engquist hit a fly ball into right field and Bryce Smart scored on an error by right fielder Blake Leiferman. 

Dimock-Emery’s Phil Johnson, who threw four scoreless relief innings, pitched another one in the ninth inning to get the save. Johnson allowed two hits and struck out four batters. 

“Who wouldn’t want the ball more than Phil Johnson and Engquist got him the ball with the lead and that’s all you can ask for,” Bartscher said. 

Leiferman finished with three hits and drove in a run. Jaxon Christensen added two hits, while Caden Lenz had a hit.

For Dimock-Emery, Peyton Nash and Jason Schmidt had two hits apiece. Jonah Schmidt, Colton Plagmann and Engquist each had hits. 

Dimock-Emery will play Dell Rapids PBR or Madison at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals. The Raptors feel confident about their pitching situation entering the quarterfinal round. 

“Josh has been incredible,” Jonah Schmidt said. “He’s given us almost 15 innings on the mound now, which it’s set us up great for the tournament. We have Jason and we’ve got Phil to go for the next two games and that’s just great for us.”