The Baltic 17U baseball team finished fourth at the 2025 South Dakota VFW Bravo Division State Tournament in Gregory held Friday, July 25th through Sunday, July 27th.
Mobridge 8, Baltic 4
In the first pool play game of the weekend, Mobridge had one big inning to help them to the win. Baltic scored a run in the bottom of the second for a 1-0 lead. Mobridge would score all eight of their runs in the top of the fourth inning. Baltic added three runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the rally fell short.
Jackson Goehring finished with a single and two RBIs. Cale Roach and AJ Grunewaldt each had a hit and an RBI. Braxton Allen added a double. Gavin Skotvold and Zachary Helgeson each had a single.
Gregory 4, Baltic 3
In the second pool-play game on Friday, Gregory slipped past Baltic in the bottom of the fifth to earn the win. Gregory scored three times in the bottom of the second for a 3-0 lead. Baltic got a run in the top of the fourth and then two more in the top of the fifth to tie the game 3-3. A bases-loaded walk with no outs in the bottom of the fifth gave Gregory the game-ending winning run.
Allen finished with two hits. Goehring and Skotvold both had a double with an RBI. A. Grunewaldt also had a hit with an RBI. Roach had a double. Isaac Oakley and Helgeson each had one hit.
Baltic 14, Corsica/Stickney 4
The single-elimination bracket play started on Saturday. In the first game for Baltic, they cruised past Corsica/Stickney in five innings, 14-4. Baltic scored four times right away in the top of the first inning. Corsica/Stickney responded with three in the bottom of the inning to make the score 4-3. Baltic then had single runs in both the second and third innings to extend the lead to 6-3. The big inning came in the top of the fourth. Baltic scored six times to push the lead to 12-3. They would add two more in the top of the fifth. Corsica/Stickney got one run in the bottom of the fifth before the game ended on the 10-run rule.
I. Oakley had two hits and two RBIs. Joey Grunewaldt had two hits, one a double, and an RBI. Roach finished with two singles and an RBI. Skotvold and A. Grunewaldt both had a double and two RBIs each. Allen added a hit and an RBI. Helgeson had a double. Elias Oakley and Goehring each had a single. J. Grunewaldt pitched five innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Mt Vernon/Plankinton 4, Baltic 3
A late rally fell short as Mt Vernon/Plankinton held on for a 4-3 win in the semifinals on Saturday. Baltic scored a run in the top of the first inning. Mt Vernon/Plankinton took the lead, 2-1, with two runs in the bottom of the first. They scored a single run in the second and third innings as well to make the score 4-1. Baltic got one run back in the top of the fifth. They added a run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Allen. Allen made it to second base, but a line out to left field ended the rally and the game.
Allen finished with two hits, one a double, and an RBI. Skotvold also had two hits, including a double, with an RBI. E. Oakley, Goehring, and I. Oakley all had one hit each. Allen pitched two innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits with one strikeout. E. Oakley threw four innings and allowed an earned run on a hit and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Mobridge 11, Baltic 6
In the 3rd/4th place game on Sunday, each team scored in the same innings, but Mobridge outscored Baltic in each of those innings. Baltic broke the scoreless tie with a run in the top of the second. Mobridge scored three times in their half of the inning. Baltic would tie the game, 3-3, with two runs in the top of the third. Mobridge, however, scored three more in the bottom of the third to make the score 6-3. Baltic got another run in the top of the fifth only to see Mobridge get two in their half of the inning to extend the lead to 8-4. Baltic plated two more runs in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 8-6, but Mobridge scored three more times in the bottom of the sixth.
E. Oakley had three hits and an RBI. Allen finished with two singles. I. Oakley had a hit and an RBI. Goehring, A. Grunewaldt, and Helgeson each had a single. Roach finished with an RBI.
