Dell Rapids had to win two games against Volga in the Region 2B championship on Thursday, July 21st, and that’s exactly what they did.  They won the first game 11-8 to give Volga their first loss in the tournament and force a second championship game.  In the second game, a grand slam by Dylan Mathis in the fourth inning pretty much sealed the deal for Dell Rapids.

Dell Rapids 11, Volga 8

Volga had a 2-1 lead through four innings of play, and then Dell Rapids’ offense came alive.  Landon Ruesink had a three-run double in the top of the fifth.  Jack Henry followed with an RBI triple, and Mathis had an RBI sacrifice fly to give Dell Rapids a 6-2 lead.  After Volga scored one run in the bottom of the fifth, Dell Rapids added five more in the top of the sixth.  Brayden Pankonen and Ruesink each had an RBI single, Henry had an RBI double, and Will Jaton had a two-run single.  Volga also scored five times in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 11-8, and that’s where game one finished.

Henry had three hits, including a double and triple, with two RBIs.  Pankonen had three hits and an RBI.  CJ Smith also finished with three hits.  Ruesink added two hits, one a double, and four RBIs.  Jaton finished with two hits and two RBIs.  Treyse Eastman had a two hits, one a double, and an RBI.  Mathis had a single and RBI, and Mason Stubbe also had a hit.

Ruesink pitched five innings and allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.  Smith pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits and two walks with a strikeout.  Mathis pitched 2/3 of an inning.  Fersdahl also pitched an inning and allowed two walks and had two strikeouts.

Dell Rapids 18, Volga 8

One big inning by Dell Rapids put them in the driver’s seat and helped punch their ticket to state.  Volga scored one run in the top of the first for an early 1-0 lead.  Dell Rapids had one of their two big innings in the bottom of the sixth, scoring six times.  Eastman had an RBI ground out.  Stubbe added an RBI single.  Pankonen reached on an error that scored Aiden Boechler. Mathis and Jaton drew back-to-back bases loaded walks for a 6-1 lead.

Volga had a big inning of their own in the top of the third.  They scored five times to tie the game 6-6.  Dell Rapids, however, took the lead back in the bottom of the inning.  Pankonen had an RBI ground out, Stubbe scored on a wild pitch, and Ruesink scored the final run of the inning to lead 9-6.  Volga pulled within a run, 9-8, after two runs in the top of the fourth.  And that’s when Dell Rapids’ offense exploded.

Smith started the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single.  Pankonen plated two runs with a single.  Henry had an RBI, bases loaded walk.  Mathis then launched the very next pitch to center field for a grand slam home run to give Dell Rapids a 17-8 lead.  Dell Rapids won the game on the 10-run rule in the bottom of the sixth when Jaton hit a double scoring Henry.

Jaton had two doubles and two RBIs.  Smith and Stubbe both had two singles and an RBI.  Mathis had a home run and five RBIs.  Pankonen added a single and four RBIs.  Ruesink, Henry, and Eastman all had an RBI.  Boechler pitched the whole game and allowed eight runs, five earned, on two hits and eight walks with four strikeouts.

Dell Rapids punched their ticket to the Region 2B Championship with a 19-10 win over Madison on Wednesday, July 20th at Rickeman Field.  Dell Rapids scored in every inning but one as the two teams combined for 24 hits and 11 errors in a slugfest.

Madison struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first.  Dell Rapids tied the game in the top of the second, and after the second inning, the score was 2-2.  Dell Rapids slowly started to pull away in the middle innings.  They scored three times in the third.  Madison countered with two in the bottom of the inning.

The fourth and fifth innings is when Dell Rapids put the pressure on Madison.  Dell Rapids scored four times in the top of the fourth inning and five more in the fifth inning.  Madison was only able to get one run in the bottom of the fourth.  After five innings of play, Dell Rapids led 14-5.  Both teams scored two runs in the sixth inning and three runs in the seventh inning.

Every starter had at least one hit and one RBI in the game for Dell Rapids.  CJ Smith had two hits and three RBIs.  Landon Ruesink had two hits, one a double, and two RBIs.  Brayden Pankonen finished with two hits and two RBIs.  Dylan Mathis had two hits, one a double, and an RBI.  Treyse Eastman also had two hits and an RBI.  Jack Henry had a home run and three RBIs.  Aiden Boechler, Will Jaton, and Mason Stubbe all finished with a single and an RBI.

Joe Rechtenbaugh pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs, two earned, on four hits and six walks with seven strikeouts.  Mathis pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits.  Braden Fersdahl pitched one inning and allowed an earned run on a hit and a walk.

Dell Rapids will get a rematch with Volga in the Region 2B championship game on Thursday, July 21st at 5:30 p.m.  Dell Rapids will need to win two games against Volga to advance to the state tournament.

Dell Rapids took advantage of three errors by Volga in the sixth inning to tie the game, but Volga rallied in extra innings for a 5-2 win on Tuesday, July 19th.  Volga advances to the championship game of the Region 2B tournament on Thursday.  Dell Rapids faces elimination on Wednesday.

Parker Puetz got things going right away for Volga with a lead-off solo home run in the top of t he first inning.  Volga added another run in the top of the third on a dropped third strike passed ball.  The score remained 2-0 in favor of Volga until the bottom of the sixth.

Mason Stubbe reached on an error to start the inning for Dell Rapids, the first error committed by Volga in the inning.  After Stubbe stole second, Brayden Pankonen had an infield single to short stop.  The throw over to first, while late, kicked away from the first baseman allowing Stubbe to score.  That was the second error of the inning.  As Volga attempted to make a play at the plate on Stubbe, Pankonen advanced towards second.  The throw by the catcher to second kicked into center field, the third error, and allowed Pankonen to move to third.  Landon Ruesink followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to center to tie the game.

Dell Rapids put together a small rally in the bottom of the seventh.  Aiden Boechler had a one-out single and then stole second.  Will Jaton lined a ball to right field in which Conner Gross made a diving catch to keep the game tied.  That play seemed to shift momentum to Volga.  Boden Schiller hit a two-run double, and Gross had an RBI sacrifice fly to give Volga a 5-2 lead in the top of the eighth.

Dell Rapids was held to just two hits.  Pankonen and Boechler each had a single.  Ruesink finished with an RBI.  Jaton pitched seven innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts.  Ruesink pitched one inning and allowed one hit and two walks.

Dell Rapids won two games on the first day of the Region 2B Legion Baseball Tournament at Rickeman Field on Monday, July 18th.  While it wasn’t easy in either game, Dell Rapids will play Volga in the semifinals on Tuesday, July 19th.

Dell Rapids 17, Flandreau 9

Dell Rapids scored nine times in the final two innings to beat Flandreau in the opening game of the tournament.  The two teams went back and forth all game long.  Dell Rapids scored a run in the top of the first, but Flandreau tied the game in the bottom of the second.  A three run top of the third inning gave Dell Rapids a 4-1 advantage.  Flandreau responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning.

Dell Rapids then scored four times in the top of the fourth, but once again, Flandreau responded.  Flandreau scored three times in their half of the fourth, and Dell Rapids led 8-6 after four innings of play.  Dell Rapids was held scoreless in the top of the fifth, and Flandreau took their first lead of the game after three runs in the bottom of the inning.  Dell Rapids took control of the game with a seven-run sixth inning, and they would score two more in the top of the seventh.

Joe Rechtenbaugh had three hits and three RBIs.  Will Jaton had two hits, one a triple, and two RBIs.  CJ Smith and Treyse Eastman both had two hits and an RBI.  Austin Harvey finished with a hit and two RBIs.  Brayden Pankonen and Landon Ruesink each had a hit and RBI.  Mason Stubbe, Braden Fersdahl, and Sutton Williams all added a hit.  Jack Henry had an RBI.

Eastman pitched three innings and allowed six earned runs on six hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.  Tad Tjaden pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts.  Pankonen pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed two hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Dell Rapids 11, Madison 8

Dell Rapids broke an 8-8 tie with three runs in the top of the seventh to advance to the semifinal round.  Madison led 2-1 after the first inning.  Dell Rapids then scored five times in the top of the second and two more in the third for an 8-2 lead.  Madison then rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth, two in the fifth, and one more in the sixth to tie the game 8-8.

Ruesink broke the tie with an RBI double.  Henry had an RBI ground out that scored Tjaden.  Smith then reached on an error that scored Ruesink for the third run of the inning.

Ruesink had three hits, one a double, and three RBIs.  Pankonen had two hits.  Fersdahl had a triple and two RBIs.  Henry had a double and two RBIs.  Smith had a single and RBI.  Jaton added a double, and Eastman had a single.

Henry pitched 3 2/3 innings and allowed five earned runs on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts.  Pankonen pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on fouor hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Tjaden pitched two innings and allowed a hit and two walks with four strikeouts.

Dell Rapids legion lost their final regular season game on Friday, July 15th.  Dell Rapids dropped a 7-2 game on the road to the Renner Royals.

Renner got the first run of the game in the bottom of the first.  Dell Rapids tied the game in the top of the second.  CJ Smith cranked a solo home run over the left field fence.  The Royals took the lead again, 2-1, in the bottom of the third.  The score remained 2-1 until the top of the sixth.  Will Jaton tied the game with an RBI single.  Renner, however, broke the game open with a five-run bottom of the sixth for the win.

Smith finished with a home run and RBI.  Jaton had a single and RBI.  Landon Ruesink had two hits, and Aiden Boechler also had a single.  Jaton pitched three innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks.  Brayden Pankonen pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on two hits and two walks with a strikeout.  Joe Rechtenbaugh pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed two earned runs on two hits and a walk.

Dell Rapids will be hosting the Region 2B tournament Monday, July 18th through Thursday, July 21st.  They will play the first game of the tournament against Flandreau starting at 12:30 p.m. at Rickeman Field.