
Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Henry
The 2022 regular season came to an end for Dell Rapids baseball on Wednesday, May 18th. Dell Rapids hosted Hanson/Bridgewater/Emery (HBE) and Baltic winning both of those games on a senior night. The two wins gave Dell Rapids a seven game winning streak.
Dell Rapids 14, Hanson/Bridgewater/Emery 4
In the first game of the night, Dell Rapids scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat HBE 14-4 on the 10-run rule.
HBE scored two runs in the top of the first inning, but Dell Rapids scored four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, all with two outs. Dylan Mathis hit an RBI sacrifice fly, Aiden Boechler had an RBI single and scored on an error, and Will Jaton scored on an error for a 4-2 lead. Each team scored a run in the third inning. CJ Smith had an RBI sacrifice fly for Dell Rapids.
HBE got a run in the top of the sixth inning to pull within a run, 5-4, but Dell Rapids’ offense went to work in the bottom of the inning. Braden Fersdahl scored on an error. Landon Ruesink added an RBI double to increase the lead to 7-4. Then with two outs, Dell Rapids scored seven more runs. Ruesink scored on an error, Jaton had an RBI single, Boechler scored on a wild pitch, Sutton Williams had a two-run single, and Brayden Pankonen drove home the final two runs on a triple.
Pankonen had two hits, one a triple, and three RBIs. Boechler had two hits, one a double, and an RBI. Jaton had two hits and an RBI. Williams had a hit and two RBIs. Ruesink had a double and an RBI. Mathis and Smith each had a single and an RBI. Joe Rechtenbaugh and Tad Tjaden each had a hit as well. Ruesink pitched all six innings allowing four runs, all unearned, on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Dell Rapids 8, Baltic 1
Dell Rapids scored eight unanswered runs for an 8-1 win over Baltic in the second game of the night.
After a scoreless first inning, Baltic pushed across a run in the top of the second on a single. Dell Rapids tied the game in the bottom of the second when Smith scored on a wild pitch. Dell Rapids took the lead in the bottom of the third. Mathis had a two-run double. Boechler followed with an RBI ground out, and Jaton had an RBI single for a 5-1 lead. Two runs came home in the bottom of the fourth. Williams and Pankonen both scored on wild pitches in the inning. Pankonen drove home the final run with a single in the bottom of the fifth.
Mathis had a double and two RBIs. Pankonen and Jaton each had a single and an RBI. Jack Henry and Williams each had a single. Boechler also had an RBI. Tjaden pitched seven innings allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk while striking out 11 batters.
Super Regional – Monday, May 23rd
Dell Rapids ends the regular season with a 13-2 record. They will host a super regional on Monday, May 23rd and Tuesday, May 24th. Dell Rapids will play McCook Central at 5:30 p.m. Mt Vernon-Plankinton/Corsica-Stickney will play Lennox at approximately 7:30 p.m. The winner of both games will play at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday with the winner of the night advancing to the state tournament Monday, May 30th and Tuesday, May 31st in Sioux Falls.
All three games will be broadcast on Big Sioux Media Sports Network.