The West Central 16U team got two wins at the Region 1A tournament on Tuesday, July 27th after dropping their first game on Monday. The first win qualified West Central for the state tournament, and the second win kept them alive in the region tournament as they push towards a higher seed.
West Central knocked Chamberlain out of regional tournament with an 11-3 early in the day. West Central scored all 11 runs in the final three innings. Chamberlain scored a run in the bottom of the fourth to break a scoreless tie, but West Central got four runs in the top of the fifth, two in the sixth, and then had a five-run seventh inning. Chamberlain only scored two times in the bottom of the seventh.
Camden McDonald had two hits and two RBIs. Dylan Sherard had a double and two RBIs. Dylan Stromer and Cade Vander Woude both had a single and an RBI. Gage Nelson and Andrew Zimmer each had a hit, and Justin Zirpel had an RBI. Owen Heath pitched 6 2/3 innings allowing three earned runs on six hits with 10 strikeouts. Maison Schuldt pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed just one walk.
West Central then took on the defending state champions, Beresford, in the final game of the night in Humboldt. After Beresford scored in the top of the first inning, West Central took control of the game in the bottom of the first and never looked back. West Central scored five times in the bottom of the first. Each team scored a run in the second inning putting West Central in front 6-2. West Central then exploded for 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to end the game on the 15-run rule.
Zirpel had three hits, including a triple, and five RBIs. Stromer had two hits and three RBIs. Zimmer had a hit and three RBIs. McDonald had a hit and an RBI. Sherard had a hit. Vander Woude and Schuldt each had an RBI. Derrick Renken pitched all four innings allowing just two runs, one earned, on one hit with four walks and six strikeouts.