The Dell Rapids 16U team completed a perfect 24-0 undefeated season with a championship at the 2023 South Dakota VFW State A Baseball Tournament held in Beresford on Friday, August 4th through Sunday, August 6th.
Dell Rapids 6, West Central 3
West Central took the early lead with a run in the top of the first, but Dell Rapids scored six times over the next three innings. They got three runs in the bottom of the first, one in the second, and two in the third for a 6-1 lead. West Central scored a run in the sixth and one more in the seventh, but Dell Rapids shut down any rally to take the opening-round win on Friday.
Brandon Schmidt had two hits, one a double, and an RBI. Tad Tjaden also had two hits and an RBI. Drake Eastman added a double and two RBIs. Logan Donovan had two hits, and Quinn Carr had an RBI. Tjaden pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Talan Millage pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed an earned run on two hits and a walk.
Dell Rapids 10, Tri-Valley 8
A five-run bottom of the sixth helped Dell Rapids to a 10-8 win over Tri-Valley in the semifinals on Saturday. Each team scored one run in the first inning and were held scoreless in the second. Tri-Valley got single runs in the third and fourth innings, while Dell Rapids scored two runs each in both of the innings. After four innings, Dell Rapids led 5-3. Tri-Valley, however, would score three in the top of the fifth and two in the sixth to go ahead 8-5. Dell Rapids then rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the win.
Tjaden had two hits and four RBIs in the game. Cooper Frost and Donovan each had two hits apiece. Lincoln Fersdahl had a double and three RBIs. Millage and Eastman added a hit and RBI each. Carr finished with a double. Eastman pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on three hits and three walks with nine strikeouts. Millage pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, three earned, on two hits and two walks with one strikeout. Fersdahl threw one inning and struck out two batters.
Dell Rapids 7, Vermillion 3
In the championship game on Sunday, Dell Rapids scored three times in the top of the first and never trailed on their way to claiming the title. Vermillion did score two times in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 3-2. Dell Rapids, however, added a run in the top of the second. The score remained 4-2 after four innings of play. Dell Rapids then got two more runs in the top of the fifth. Vermillion scored one time in the bottom of the inning. Dell Rapids then added an insurance run in the top of the seventh to secure the 7-3 victory.
Fersdahl had three hits, one of those a double. Schmidt tallied two hits in the game. Eastman had a single and an RBI. Tjaden and Carr each had one RBI. Fersdahl pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. Cole Ruesink pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed three walks while striking out one batter.
