The Baltic 17U baseball team qualified for the 2025 South Dakota VFW Bravo Division State Tournament with two wins over Mt Vernon/Plankinton in a best-of-three qualifying series on Wednesday, July 16th.
Baltic 7, Mt Vernon/Plankinton 2
A mid-inning rally helped Baltic to the victory in the first game. They scored a run in the bottom of the first for an early 1-0 lead. Mt Vernon/Plankinton tied the game with a run in the top of the third. Baltic then scored six straight runs. They plated two in the bottom of the third and four more in the fourth for a 7-1 lead. Mt Vernon/Plankinton got one more run in the top of the fifth.
Isaac Oakley had two hits, one a double, and two RBIs. Joey Grunewaldt also had two hits, including a double. Elias Oakley and Braxton Allen both had a single with an RBI. Jackson Goehring and Gavin Skotvold had one hit each. Allen pitched all seven innings and allowed two runs, both unearned, on eight hits with three strikeouts.
Baltic 10, Mt Vernon/Plankinton 7
Baltic took the lead early in the game, but had to rally in the seventh to get the win in the second game. They scored three runs in the top of the first and another in the third for a 4-0 lead. Mt Vernon/Plankinton scored two times in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half, 4-2. Baltic added another run in the fourth, and Mt Vernon/Plankinton got a run in the fifth. After five innings, Baltic led 5-3.
Baltic added another run in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 6-3. Mt Vernon/Plankinton rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to go in front 7-6. Baltic responded with a big, four-run top of the seventh to take the momentum and lead back, 10-7.
Cale Roach had three hits, one a double, and two RBIs. Allen ended with two hits. AJ Grunewaldt had a single and two RBIs. Goehring had a double with an RBI. I. Oakley had a single with an RBI, and E. Oakley ended with an RBI.
State Tournament Information
The Bravo Division state tournament will be held in Gregory Friday, July 25th through Sunday, July 27th.
