The 2018 season for the Dell Rapids 13/14 Teener team came to an end at the Class A Northeast Regional on Wednesday, July 11th. The regional tournament was held in Milbank Tuesday, July 10th through Thursday, July 12th.
Dell Rapids opened the tournament with a 12-2 win over Milbank on Tuesday afternoon. Dell Rapids jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning and cruised to the 10-run victory in five innings. Austin Henry pitched a complete game for Dell Rapids in the win.
Dell Rapids then faced a tough Volga team Wednesday afternoon. The game was close early. Dell Rapids led 3-2 after the first inning, but Volga scored four times in the bottom of the second inning to take a 6-3 lead. Dell Rapids pulled within a run after the top of the third at 6-5, but once again Volga responded. Volga scored six times in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 12-5. Volga went on to defeat Dell Rapids 15-9 to advance to the championship game.
Dell Rapids had a short break and had to play Milbank again in the last game of the day on Wednesday. This time Milbank got out to an early lead. They lead Dell Rapids by four to six runs most of the night and even lead by eight runs at 12-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Dell Rapids rallied for five runs in the last inning and even had the bases loaded before the final out was recorded to give Milbank a 12-9 win.
Henry finished the tournament with a .600 batting average with a double and five RBIs. Landon Ruesink had an average of .545 with a double, triple and three RBIs. Brady Larson hit .300 with five RBIs. Brayden Pankonen collected three hits and an RBI. Charlie Holm had two hits and three RBIs. Josh Deknikker, Dylan Mathis, and Shane Ness all had a hit. Matthew Goeken drew four walks and scored two runs.
Volga went on to win the region championship over Milbank 17-7 to advance to the 13/14 Class A State VFW tournament in Flandreau July 19th-21st. The Northeast Region tournament teams were Volga, Dell Rapids, Milbank, Flandreau, and Sisseton.
The Dell Rapids 13/14 teener team that played in the regional tournament was a combination of two 13/14 Dell Rapids league teams. The league teams played in the I29 League. Dells-J league team was coached by Jeff Holm, Bill Goeken, and Matt Larson. Dells-J finished with a 5-9 league record. Dells-N league team was coached by Nate Henry and Fran Ruesink. Dells-N finished with a 6-6 league record. The I29 League consists of teams from Baltic, Canova, Dell Rapids, Elkton, Flandreau, Garretson, Hills-Beaver Creek, Madison, Parker, Salem-Montrose, Tea, Tri-Valley, Volga, and West Central.