Dell Rapids PBR, the #1 seed in this year’s District 4B Tournament, opened the tournament with a 16-10 win over the Hartford/Humboldt Wood Ducks on Saturday, July 26th in Madison. Dell Rapids used three big innings to get the win.
The Wood Ducks put two runs on the board right away in the top of the first inning. PBR responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning taking advantage of walks. Chris Kropuenske and Brayden Pankonen both drew a bases-loaded walk in the inning. Nate Nichols had an RBI single and then scored on a wild pitch to give PBR a 5-2 lead. The Wood Ducks got two more runs in the top of the second to cut the lead to 5-3. They inched closer, 5-4, with another run in the top of the third. Drew Sweeter had a three-run double in the bottom of the third. Beau Behrend, Nichols, and Grant Sweeter all had bases-loaded RBI walks to give PBR an 11-4 lead after three innings.
The Wood Ducks would keep chipping away at the lead. They scored a run in the top of the fourth inning, another in the fifth, and two more in the sixth to cut the lead to 11-8. Zach Puetz had an RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 12-8. Hartford/Humboldt plated two more runs in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 12-10. PBR put the game away in the bottom of the eighth. Puetz had a two-run single, and Weston Hansen added a two-run double.
D. Sweeter had two doubles and three RBIs. Puetz had two hits, including a double, and three RBIs. Nichols finished with two singles and three RBIs. Hensen had two hits, one a double, and two RBIs. G. Sweeter and Pankonen each had a single and an RBI. Riley Calhoon added a hit. Kropuenske and Behrend each had an RBI. Brett Mogen pitched seven innings and allowed 10 runs, seven earned, on 14 hits with nine strikeouts. Pankonen pitched two innings and allowed a hit and walk with two strikeouts.
