The Colton Legion baseball team had their season come to an end at the Region 5B tournament on Monday, July 19th in Canova.

Colton played in the opening game of the tournament against Lake Norden/Badger.  Lake Norden/Badger advanced with a 20-4 victory, sending Colton to the loser’s bracket.

Colton then met the host team, Canova, in an elimination game later in the day.  Canova scored first in the top of the first inning, but Colton took the lead in the bottom of the first.  Luke Lofswold had a two-out, two-run single to give Colton a 2-1 lead after the first inning.  Canova, however, took the lead for good in the top of the second inning.  They scored seven times for an 8-2 lead.  Colton cut into the lead in the bottom of the second when Cole Skadsen had a three-run double to cut the lead to 8-5. 

Canova got a single run in the top of the third inning and one more in the top of the fifth to push the lead to 10-5.  Nick Haas had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth for Colton to cut the score to 10-6, but Canova got one more run in the top of the sixth for the 11-6 victory.  The loss ended Colton’s time in the Region 5B tournament and ended their season.

Skadsen had three hits, including a double, and three RBIs. Alex Andresen had three hits. Hass had two hits and an RBI. Braydon Humpel had two hits. Lofswold finished with a single and two RBIs. Preston Wieman also had a hit. Logan Cowill pitched five innings allowing 11 runs, six earned, on nine hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Lofswold pitched two innings allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout.

Colton Legion split a double-header with Dell Rapids in Colton on Friday, July 16th.  Colton won the first game 4-3, but Dell Rapids took the second game 7-4.

Dell Rapids got on the board in the top of the first inning in game number one by scoring on an error. The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fifth inning. Dell Rapids then got another run in the top of the fifth for a 2-0 lead. Colton got one run back in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Alex Andresen had an RBI double to make the score 2-1.  Colton then tied the game in the bottom of the seventh.  Braydon Humpel had an RBI single with two outs to tie the game 2-2. Dell Rapids broke the tie in the top of the tenth inning, but Colton came back in the bottom of the inning.  Humpel had another RBI single to tie the game, and then Preston Wieman had the game-winning hit for the 4-3 win.

Humpel had two hits and two RBIs.  Wieman also had two hits and an RBI.  Andresen had a double and an RBI.  Logan Cowill finished with a double.  Nick Hass pitched three innings allowing an earned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts.  Cowill pitched two innings allowing an earned run on four hits with two strikeouts.  Luke Lofswold pitched five innings allowing an unearned run on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

In the five-inning second game, Colton scored first in the bottom of the first inning. Andresen scored on an error for an early 1-0 lead.  Dell Rapids tied the game in top of the second inning. The scored was 1-1 after three innings of play, and then Dell Rapids scored four times in the top of the fourth inning for a 5-1 lead.  Dell Rapids added two more in the top of the fifth to push the lead to 7-1.  Colton put together a rally scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth.  Hass scored on an error on a ground ball by Riley Carlson.  Cole Skadsen scored on an error by the pitcher, and Andresen had an RBI single to cut the lead to 7-4, but Dell Rapids ended the rally there to get the win.

Andresen had three hits and an RBI.  Lofswold, Hass, and Skadsen all had singles.  Carlson had an RBI.  Andresen pitched two innings allowing an earned run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts.  Carlson pitched 1 2/3 innings allowing four earned run on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts.  Humpel pitched 1 1/3 inning allowing two earned runs on no hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

The Colton Legion baseball team lost two of their last three games over the last week.  Colton is currently 7-8 on the season.

On Thursday, July 1st, Colton hosted Madison.  Madison won that game 17-4. Madison scored a run in the top of the first inning, but then six in the fourth, four in the fourth, and six more in the fifth inning.  Nick Haas drove home two runs with a double in the bottom of the third for Colton.  Colton scored two more in the bottom of the sixth on singles by Alex Andresen and Brayden Humpel.

Colton then hosted Canova the very next night on Friday, July 2nd.  Colton got a close 2-1 victory to even their record at 7-7.  Colton broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth when Luke Lofswald scored after a base hit to start the inning.  Canova tied the game in the top of the sixth, but Colton got the game-winning run in the bottom of the inning.  Owen Besmer got a one-out single, his second of the game.  Cole Skadsen followed with a base hit as well.  Besmer later scored in the inning to give Colton the lead.  Canova loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Logan Cowill got a strikeout to end the game and get the win.  Cowill pitched a complete game allowing just two hits while striking out six.

Colton also hosted Tea on Monday, July 5th, but Tea was victorious, 5-3.  Tea scored two runs in the top of the first inning and then added three more in the top of the third.  Andresen scored the first run for Colton in the bottom of the second.  They would get two more in the bottom of the sixth as Skadsen and Humpel both scored.  Lofswald had two hits in the game.  Humpel, Andresen, Skadsen, Cowill, Haas, and Riley Carlson all had a hit in the game as well.

The Colton Legion baseball team currently has a .500 record (6-6) through 12 games this season.  They are a little over halfway through the regular season with nine more games on the schedule.

Colton dropped a game to Vermillion on Saturday, June 19th by a score of 12-5.  They bounced back with an 8-6 victory over Tea at home on Tuesday, June 22nd.  Lake Norden picked up two wins against Colton in a double-header in Colton on Saturday, June 26th.  Lake Norden won the games 3-2 and 2-1.  Colton got a win in their last game on Sunday, June 27th at Flandreau 10-5.

Colton will have three straight home games starting Thursday, July 1st.  They will host Madison on Thursday, Canova on Friday, July 2nd, and then Tea on Monday, July 5th.

The Colton Legion team has played about 1/3 of their 2021 season.  Through seven games they have an overall record of 4-3.

Their season started on June 2nd in Salem.  Colton fell just short in the game as Salem won 5-4.  Colton then went on an three-game winning streak.  They won a double-header on June 4th at Alexandria by scores of 14-6 and 18-10.  The third win came on their first home game of the season on June 10th.  They defeated humboldt/Hartford by a score of 10-3.

After the three-game winning streak, Lake Norden handed Colton two losses.  The two teams played a double-header on June 12th.  Lake Norden won the first game 10-5 and then the second game 12-6.

Colton’s latest game was on the road at Canova on June 15th.  They earned another win by a score of 4-1.