The Dell Rapids Jr Mudcats (10U) placed third at the 10U State VFW Tournament on Friday, July 15th, through Sunday, July 16th, in Humboldt.
Dell Rapids started the tournament with a win over the Madison Bulldogs on Friday night. Dell Rapids scored the first run of the game in the second inning. Madison answered with a run in the fourth inning, but Dell Rapids scored three times in the fifth inning. Madison scored another run in the sixth inning, but Dell Rapids hung on for the 4-2 win.
The Mudcats then faced West Central on Saturday morning. Dell Rapids scored the first run of the game in the second inning on a bases-loaded RBI walk. The Mudcats added another run in the fifth inning. West Central scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. Dell Rapids scored two times in the top of the sixth inning, but West Central scored three times for the 5-4 win over the Mudcats.
Dell Rapids rallied later in the day with a win against Dakota Valley 8-6. Dakota Valley led Dell Rapids 5-2 after the first inning. The Mudcats, however, scored six unanswered runs in the game to take the lead 8-5, allowing only one more run to Dakota Valley for the win. Dell Rapids finished pool play with a 2-1 record and the number one seed.
The Mudcats faced Vermillion on Sunday in the championship bracket. Vermillion took an early 4-0 lead after the first two innings, but Dell Rapids would cut the lead in half on a two-run triple in the fourth inning to make the game 4-2. The Mudcats would rally in the sixth by adding another run to cut the lead to 4-3, but the rally fell short as Vermillion hung on for the win.
In the final game of the tournament, Dell Rapids played against Lennox. The Mudcats scored four times in the bottom of the first inning for an early 4-0 lead. Lennox answered with a run in the top of the second and another run in the top of the third to cut the Dell Rapids lead to 4-2. The Mudcats were able to add another run in the bottom of the third and hung on for a 5-2 win to finished the tournament in 3rd place.
Riley Schultz finished the tournament 4-11 from the plate with five RBIs, Lincoln Fersdahl went 5-11 with six runs scored, and Tad Tjaden had eight innings pitched giving up just one run while striking out 15 batters. Tjaden had one win and two saves for the tournament.
