A four-run seventh inning lifted the Dell Rapids Mudcats over the Madison Broncos 4-3 at the District 4B Amateur Baseball Tournament in Flandreau on Thursday, July 30th. The win qualified the Mudcats for the State B Tournament in Mitchell August 5-15.
Madison jumped on Matt Wilbur and the Mudcats right away in the first inning. The Broncos scored three times on four hits and two Mudcat errors. Madison would leave the bases loaded, but took an early 3-0 lead. The Mudcats struggled to find their offense as they were only able to get two total hits through the first six innings.
Madison, meanwhile, threatened to add to their lead in just about every inning. The Broncos had at least one hit in every inning through the first six innings, but were unable to push across any more runs. The momentum seemed to shift Dell Rapids way in the top of the sixth inning. Madison had three hits in the inning, but had a runner thrown out at home, and they again left the bases loaded.
The Mudcats finally got to Brandon Burg in the seventh inning. Joe Lewellen reached on a one-out single. Jimmy Bauer hit a two-out double to put runners on second and third. Travis Peters drove in the Mudcats’ first run with an RBI single. Kris King drew a walk, and the Mudcats had the bases loaded with two outs. Madison made a pitching change bringing in Chris Brozik to face Nate Henry. Henry drove a double off the base of the wall to drive in three runs to give Dell Rapids a 4-3 lead.
Wilbur got through the final two innings to get the complete-game win and send Dell Rapids to the state tournament. Wilbur gave up three runs, two earned, on 11 hits while striking out 10 and walking four. He was able to pitch Dell Rapids through a rough night in the field as the Mudcats committed five errors.
Henry finished 1-3 with a double and three RBI. Peters was 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Bauer, King and Lewellen also collected hits for Dell Rapids.
The Mudcats will enter the state tournament as the District 4B #2 rep. Pairings for the state tournament will be released after the conclusion of all the district tournaments.