The West Central high school baseball team is headed to the State B tournament after getting two wins in the Region 3B tournament held in Tea on Tuesday, May 25th.

West Central was the #3 seed in the tournament and played their opening round game against #6 Garretson.  West Central scored two in the bottom of the second inning, which was enough as they held Garretson to just one run on their way to a 5-1 victory.

Grafton Stroup had three hits and two RBIs in the game.  Ryan Healy had two hits, one of them a double, and an RBI.  Zach Madsen and Ben Sebert both had a hit and an RBI.  Seth Gabbert added a double, and Dylan Sherrard and Loren Jacobson both had a hit.

Gabbert pitched 6 1/3 innings allowing one earned run on three hits with five walks and eight strikeouts.  Stroup pitched 2/3 of an inning without allowing a hit.

West Central then met #2 Tea in the state qualifying game.  After a scoreless first inning, West Central’s offense exploded scoring 20 runs on 16 hits while holding Tea to just one hit in a 20-0 win.  West Central scored seven in the second, three in the third, seven more in the fourth inning, and three in the fifth inning.

Healy finished the game with three hits and three RBIs.  Jacobson had three hits, including a triple, and two RBIs.  Stroup had three hits, one a double and one a triple, as well as two RBIs.  Noah Hohn had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs.  Ben Serbert had a hit with two RBIs.  Gabbert finished with a hit and RBI.  Adam Parsons, Jack Linnemann, and Zach Madsen all had a hit as well.

Hohn pitched all five innings allowing just one hit with three walks and five strikeouts.

The 2021 South Dakota High School Baseball Association Class B State Tournament will be held at Sioux Falls Stadium on Monday, May 31st and Tuesday, June 1st.

West Central scored two in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn a 7-3 win over Sioux Falls Christian on Monday, May 17th.

West Central scored the first three runs of the game.  Loren Jacobson had an RBI ground out in the top of the first inning to score Ryan Healy for a 1-0 lead.  The first four batters of the third inning for West Central all hit singles.  Grafton Stroup had an RBI on his hit as did Noah Hohn to push the West Central lead to 3-0.

Sioux Falls Christian two runs in the bottom of the third inning on back-to-back singles to cut the lead to 3-2.  Sioux Falls Christian then tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning after a West Central error.

The Trojans regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning.  Stroup lead off the inning with a home run to right field.  Braden Herr hit an RBI sacrifice fly later in the inning to make the score 5-3.  Two more runs scored in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Jacobson and an RBI double by Stroup.

Stroup had three hits, including a home run and double, with three RBIs.  Jacobson had two hits and two RBIs.  Hohn finished with two hits, including a double, with an RBI.  Herr also had an RBI.  Healy picked up two hits, and Ben Sebert, Adam Parsons, and Seth Gabbert all had a hit.

Herr pitched four innings giving up three runs, two earned, on two hits with five walks and six strikeouts.  Stroup pitched the final three innings giving up just one hit and had five strikeouts.

A two-run first inning for West Central was more than enough for them to defeat Baltic at home on Thursday, May 13th.  West Central took the 4-1 win.

Grafton Stroup drove home the first run of the game on a sacrifice line out to center field scoring Ryan Healy.  Bem Sebert later scored on an error to give West Central a 2-0 lead after the opening inning.  Baltic’s lone run came in the top of the second inning after a steal of home.  West Central added another run in the bottom of the second after Dylan Sharrard scored on an error by the catcher.  Noah Hohn scored after a single by Adam Parsons in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Loren Jacobson had a double in the game.  Parsons had a hit and RBI.  Zach Madsen, Sherrard, and Seth Gabbert all had singles in the game.

Gabbert pitched a complete game giving up one earned run on three hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

For four innings Dell Rapids and West Central were locked in a scoreless pitching duel at Rickeman Field on Monday, May 10th.  West Central finally broke the tie in the top of the fifth inning, but Dell Rapids scored three unanswered runs to win 3-1.

The two teams combined for just three hits through the first four innings of play.  Zach Madsen led off the West Central fifth with a slow roller up the third base line for an infield single.  Madsen advanced to third after an error on a throw over to first and then a passed ball.  Adam Parsons blooped a broken-bat single over a drawn-in infield for the first run of the game and a 1-0 lead for West Central.

Dell Rapids responded by getting the first three batters on base safely in the bottom of the fifth.  Brayden Pankonen drew a lead-off walk.  Austin Henry followed with a single, and Landon Ruesink tied the game with an RBI single.  A. Henry scored after an errant throw attempt to second on a steal by Ruesink.  That run gave Dell Rapids a 2-1 lead.  Dell Rapids added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Noah Hohn pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up two runs, one earned, on just three hits.  He also had five walks and five strikeouts.  Grafton Stroup gave up an unearned run on one hit and had one walk and one strikeout.

Ryan Healy had a double in the game.  Parsons finished with a hit and RBI, and Madsen also had a hit in the game.