The Big Sticks began a four-game home series on Monday, July 26 at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark in Dickinson against the Mining City Tommyknockers. Josh Tucker received the start for the Big Sticks while Jon Cordaway was Tucker’s opposition on the mound for the Tommyknockers. The Big Sticks got the scoring affair started Monday night in the second inning when Anthony Garrett’s RBI single scored Eric Martinez from second base after he got on base with a single and moved into scoring position due to a wild pitch during Garrett’s at bat. Shortly after Garrett’s RBI single, the Tommyknockers tied up the game in the fourth inning with an RBI double off Big Sticks starter Josh Tucker. Tucker went on to throw 5 innings for the Sticks while holding the Tommyknockers to 1 run on 5 strikeouts and 4 walks. The Sticks responded to the Tommyknockers 1 run in the top of the fourth inning with a 3-run bottom of the fourth. A 2-out bases loaded double from Derek Gellos put the Sticks out in front of the Tommyknockers 4-1. Mason Hoover relieved Josh Tucker after his 5 innings of work and completely dominated the Tommyknockers lineup while showing great command of his fastball and curveball. Hoover threw 4 innings of no-hit relief, walking just 1 batter and struck out 8 of his 13 batters faced. The Sticks scored one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 5-1 lead, which would end up being the final score of Monday night’s game. Josh Tucker picked up his sixth win of the season, while Jon Cordaway received his first loss of the summer.

Game 2 saw Michael Reddick get the call for the Big Sticks on the mound while Jeremy Husband started the Tuesday night matchup for the Tommyknockers. The game began with two and a half scoreless innings until a Carson Lundmark RBI single in the bottom of the third inning scored Derek Gellos to put the Sticks in the run column. The fifth inning saw the two teams trade a pair of runs to make the game 2-1 in favor of the Big Sticks. Then, the Sticks scored again in the sixth inning off an Anthony Garrett RBI single which saw Matt Olive cross the plate. Michael Reddick gave the Big Sticks a much-needed quality start by going 8 innings while allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 11 strikeouts plus a win (his third of the summer). Casten Reed came on in the ninth inning for the save opportunity in a 3-1 ballgame and recorded his first save of the summer. Jeremy Husband received the loss for the Tommyknockers as the Big Sticks went on to win the game 3-2.

Parker Stohr got the start for the Big Sticks in game 3 of the four-game set and Drew Leonard received the call for the Tommyknockers. As they did in the first two games of the series, the Sticks got on the board first. In the third inning, an RBI single from Angel De La Cruz saw Joe Osborn cross home plate. The Big Sticks would score again in the following inning off a bases loaded RBI walk from Joe Osborn that scored Wyatt Setian. Parker Stohr gave the Big Sticks their second quality start in as many nights as he went 7.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. Although Stohr gave the Big Sticks a quality start, he received a no decision for his performance because the Tommyknockers bats came to life in the eighth inning when they knocked Stohr out of the game. After a quick first out of the inning, a double, walk, and a runner reaching base via an error saw the Tommyknockers plate their first run of the night. Following the first run, an RBI single saw the team from Butte, MT score their second run of the inning to tie up the game at 2-2. Pat Miner came on in relief for Parker Stohr and got the final two outs of the eighth inning. The game went into extra innings after the Big Sticks couldn’t score in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Tommyknockers would go on to score 2 runs in the top of the tenth inning off Pat Miner and Dylan Wilhelm came in to close out the game for the Tommyknockers in the bottom of the tenth inning to secure a 4-2 win. Miner received the loss for the Sticks while Conner Phelan, who came on in relief and threw 5 scoreless innings for the Tommyknockers, received the win.

The Thursday night series finale saw the bats get more work than they did the previous 3 nights as the two teams combined for 21 runs. Joe Harris got the call for the Big Sticks on the mound while Kyle Wellman started on the mound for the Tommyknockers. The first inning was relatively quiet for both pitchers, but the second inning saw an offensive spark from both teams. The Tommyknockers would score 4 runs in the top half of the inning and the Sticks responded with 2 runs of their own courtesy of a 2-run HR from Wyatt Setian in the bottom half of the inning. The Big Sticks cut the Tommyknockers lead to 1 when they stole a run from the Tommyknockers after Anthony Garrett scored while Derek Gellos tried stealing second base in the third inning. After a quiet fourth inning, the Tommyknockers put together a 5-run fifth inning and added an additional 2 runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 11-3 lead over the Sticks. Travis Ray Jr would get four of the runs back when he hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth to make it an 11-7 game in favor of the Tommyknockers. Big Sticks starter Joe Harris went 5 innings, while the final four innings saw Colin Smith, Calvin Watkins, Matt Johnston, and Matt Slowik all get an inning of work. The Tommyknockers would go on to win the final game of the series 14-7 after scoring 1 run in the seventh inning off Watkins and a pair of runs in the ninth inning off Slowik. Harris received the loss for the Big Sticks while Kyle Wellman was credited with the win for the Tommyknockers.

With the Thursday night loss, the Big Sticks and Tommyknockers split the series 2 games apiece. The Big Sticks head on the road Friday to begin a 6-game road trip. The Sticks begin the road trip with a weekend series versus the Mining City Tommyknockers once again. First pitch for game 1 is scheduled for 7:05 MST Friday, July 30 in Butte, MT.