Photo taken and used with permission by Joni Smith
The Dell Rapids 13/14 Teener team placed third at the 2019 South Dakota VFW 14U State Tournament held Friday, July 19th through Sunday, July 21st in Madison.
Dell Rapids opened the tournament with a 7-6 win over Elk Point-Jefferson on Friday. Dell Rapids scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning taking advantage of an EPJ error and never trailed in the game. After EPJ scored a run in the top of the second, Dell Rapids scored five times in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 7-1 lead. EPJ scored four times in the top of the sixth inning and one more in the seventh, but Dell Rapids was able to close out the game for the win.
Brayden Pankonen, Dylan Mathis, Will Jaton, Joe Rechtenbaugh, Chase Jones, and Evan Nelson all collected hits in the game. Shane Ness and Mathis each had an RBI. Pankonen pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up one earned run on four hits with two walks and a strikeout. Jones pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up four earned runs on four hits with two walks and a strikeout. Jaton closed out the game giving up an earned run on one with and a walk.
Dell Rapids then dropped the semifinal game against West Central by a score of 7-4 on Saturday. Dell Rapids was only able to collect three hits in the game, and West Central took advantage of eight Dell Rapids errors. West Central scored two runs in the top of the first inning for an early 2-0 lead. Dell Rapids cut the lead in half after Rechtenbaugh scored on an error. West Central, however, scored four runs on just one hit in the top of the fifth inning to extend the lead to 7-1. Mathis scored on a balk in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 7-2. Mathis then drove in two more runs with a double in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out to make the score 7-4, but West Central got the next two Dell Rapids hitters for the win.
Pankonen, Mathis, and CJ Smith had the three hits for Dell Rapids in the game. Mathis had two RBIs in the game. Jaton pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up five runs, three earned, on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Smith pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up two runs, both unearned, on one hit and three walks. Mathis pitched one inning giving up a hit.
Dell Rapids then closed out their state tournament experience with a tight 2-1 win over Spearfish on Sunday to take third place. Dell Rapids had two runs on six hits with no errors, while Spearfish had one run on four hits with no errors.
Mathis scored on a passed ball for the first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning for Dell Rapids. Mathis then hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning to drive home Pankonen for the second run. Spearfish got their lone run in the top of the sixth inning.
Pankonen had two hits in the game, while Shane Ness, Mathis, Jaton, and Nelson all had one hit each. Mathis had the lone RBI in the game for Dell Rapids. Pankonen pitched a complete game giving up one earned run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
The third place finish brings the 2019 13/14 Teener season to an end for Dell Rapids.