The Dell Rapids 14U baseball team finished their season with a sixth place finish at the 2021 South Dakota Class A State tournament in Vermillion Friday, July 23rd through Sunday, July 25th.

Dell Rapids played the host team Vermillion in the opening round on Friday.  Vermillion scored two runs in the top of the first, but Dell Rapids answered with two in the bottom of the inning for a 2-2 tie.  The score remained 2-2 until the bottom of the fifth inning.  Dell Rapids then scored four times and added one more in the bottom of the sixth for a 7-2 lead heading into the top of the seventh inning.  Vermillion found their offense in top of the seventh getting six runs on seven hits to take they lead.  They held Dell Rapids scoreless in the bottom of the inning and got the 8-7 come-from-behind win.

Dell Rapids then played Spearfish on Saturday and squeaked out a 4-2 win to advance to the consolation championship.   Spearfish scored in the bottom of the first inning, but Dell Rapids got two in the top of the second for a 2-1 lead.  Dell Rapids got two more runs in the top of the fifth, and Spearfish scored one in the same inning to make the score 4-2.  Spearfish had the tying runs on third and second base with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but a line drive out and double-up on second for the third out ended the game to give Dell Rapids the win.

In the consolation championship on Sunday, Dell Rapids faced Madison Gold.  Despite having an early lead, Dell Rapids fell to Madison by a score of 9-5.  Dell Rapids scored three times in the top of the first inning, and Madison got two back in the bottom of the first.  Dell Rapids added another run in the top of the second to lead 4-2, but Madison picked up five runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead for good.  Dell Rapids scored one in the top of the third with Madison scoring two in the bottom of the inning for the 9-5 lead.  Neither team scored in the final four innings of the game.

Cole Ruesink had six hits, with one double, during the state tournament games.  Lincoln Fersdahl had four hits, one double, with three RBIs.  Cooper Frost had three hits, two of them doubles, and four RBIs.  Quinn Carr had two hits, with one double, and two RBIs.  Grady Lamer and Talan Millage both finished with two hits.   Tad Tjaden had a double and two RBIs.  Kenny Swanson had a hit and one RBI.

Carr pitched 4 1/3 innings during the tournament allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits with four walks and 11 strikeouts.  Fersdahl pitched four innings allowing no runs on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts.  Tjaden pitched four innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits with six walks and four strikeouts.  Frost pitched three innings and allowed nine runs, but just two earned, on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts.  Ruesink pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing three hits with a walk and three strikeouts.  Millage pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up six runs, two earned, on seven hits, with one strikeout. 

Dell Rapids finished with an overall record of 24-6 on the season.

The Dell Rapids 14U team won all four of their games at the Region 2A tournament in Northville bringing home the region title.  The tournament was held Wednesday, July 14th through Friday, July 16th.

In their first game on Wednesday morning, Dell Rapids had no problems with Madison Maroon.  Dell Rapids got out to a 7-0 lead after the first four innings.  Madison scored two in the top of the fifth inning, but Dell Rapids responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning for a 12-2 win on the 10-run rule.

After a one-game break, Dell Rapids then played Volga in their second game on Wednesday.  The game was tied 1-1 after two innings of play.  Dell Rapids scored five times in the top of the third inning, but Volga responded with three runs to make the score 6-4.  Dell Rapids then had a 10-run fourth inning and added four more in top of the fifth for a 20-4 win on the 10-run rule.

In the semifinal game on Thursday, Dell Rapids played the host team Warner-Ipswich-Northville (WIN).  Dell Rapids scored five runs in the first two innings for a 5-0 lead.  WIN picked up a run in the top of the third, but Dell Rapids also scored a run to keep the lead at five runs, 6-1.  WIN scored three times in the top of the fifth inning, and Dell Rapids held on to a 6-4 lead after five innings.  Dell Rapids then scored eight times in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game on the 10-run rule 14-4.

WIN battled back to make it to the championship game on Friday to play Dell Rapids once again.  This time Dell Rapids’ offense scored in every inning.  WIN scored the first two runs in the top of the first, but Dell Rapids had six runs in the bottom of the inning and three more in the bottom of the second for a 9-2 lead.  Dell Rapids then outscored WIN 9-1 the rest of the game for a 18-3 win in four innings on the 15-run rule to win the region championship.

Cole Ruesink had 12 hits over the four games including five doubles and a triple along with six RBIs.  Lincoln Fersdahl had 11 hits, with five doubles and a triple to go with 15 RBIs.  Talan Millage had seven hits, one of them a double, and three RBIs.  Grady Lamer had five hits, including one double, and one RBI.  Tad Tjaden finished with five hits, with two doubles, and two RBIs.  Logan Donovan had four singles and three RBIs.  Cooper Frost had three hits, one a double, and four RBIs.  Kenny Swanson had three hits and four RBIs.  Quinn Carr had three singles and five RBIs.  Brandon Schmidt had two hits, one double, and an RBI.  Ethan Vanderwerf had a hit and an RBI.

Fersdahl also pitched 5 2/3 innings in the tournament allowing one earned run on one hit with six walks and 10 strikeouts.  Carr pitched five innings giving up three earned runs on three hits with five walks and 11 strikeouts.  Tjaden also pitched five innings allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.  Ruesink had 2 1/3 innings pitched giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit and one walk with three strikeouts.  Frost pitched an inning giving up two runs, one earned, on two hits with three walks.  Millage pitched an inning giving up one hit and striking out one.

Dell Rapids will now play in the 2021 South Dakota VFW 14U Class A State Tournament in Vermillion Friday, July 23rd through Sunday, July 25th.  They will play Vermillion at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in their opening game.

Dell Rapids 14U ended their regular season with another I-29 League win on Wednesday, July 7th.  Dell Rapids defeated Elkton on the road 13-5.

Dell Rapids scored seven times right away in the top of the first inning.  Quinn Carr and Lincoln Fersdahl both had RBI singles.  Brandon Schmidt had a two-run single, Logan Donovan had an RBI single, and Schmidt scored on an error for the early 7-0 lead.  Dell Rapids extended the lead when Donovan had an RBI ground out in the top of the second inning.

Tad Tjaden scored on an error to push the lead to 9-0 in the top of the third inning.  Elkton scored their first run in the bottom of the third inning.   Kenny Swanson added an RBI ground out in the top of the fifth inning to give Dell Rapids a 10-1 lead.  Elkton picked up another run in the bottom of the inning.

Nick Snyder had an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, and Dell Rapids led 11-2.  Cole Ruesink scored on a wild pitch, and Snyder had an RBI single in the top of the seventh to put Dell Rapids ahead 13-2.  Elkton scored three times in the bottom of the seventh.

Cooper Frost had three hits, a single, double, and a triple.  Donovan had two hits and two RBIs.  Snyder had two hits and an RBI.  Ruesink had two hits, including a triple.  Tjaden had a double and two RBIs.  Schmidt had a hit and two RBIs.  Fersdahl and Carr both had a hit and an RBI.  Noah Larson had a single.   Swanson had an RBI.

Tjaden pitched three innings allowing an earned run on a hit with four walks and three strikeouts.  Frost pitched an inning walking one and striking out three.  Ruesink pitched an inning giving up an unearned run with a walk and three strikeouts.  Talan Millage pitched two innings allowing three earned runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Dell Rapids will play in the Region 2A tournament July 14th through 16th in Northville.  Dell Rapids’ first game will be against Madison Maroon on Wednesday, July 14th at 11:00 a.m.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Dell Rapids 14U	7	1	1	0	1	1	2	13	14	2
Elkton 14U	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	5	4	3

Dell Rapids had no problem with Tri-Valley White as they scored at least one run in six of the seven innings on their way to a 10-1 win in Colton on Wednesday, June 30th.  This was the fifth game in four days for Dell Rapids, and they won four of the five.

Dell Rapids scored three runs in the top of the first inning.  Logan Donovan scored on an error.  Cooper Frost had an RBI double and then scored on a passed ball.  Tad Tjaden drove home two more runs with a double in the top of the second inning.  Kenny Swanson had an RBI single in the third.  Lincoln Fersdahl had his RBI single in the top of the fourth.  Talan Millage scored on an error in the top of the fifth inning.  Dell Rapids led 8-0 at that point in the game.  Tri-Valley scored a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth, but Dell Rapids scored two more in the top of the sixth.  Quinn Carr scored on a passed ball, and Fersdahl stole home.

Tjaden had two hits, both doubles, and two RBIs.  Millage had two hits.  Cooper Frost had a double and an RBI.  Carr had a triple and RBI.  Fersdahl and Swanson both had a single and RBI.  Ethan Vanderwerf and Nick Snyder both had a hit as well.

Tjaden also pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing one earned run on a hit with four walks and 10 strikeouts.  Millage pitched the final 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit and striking out seven batters.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Dell Rapids 14U	3	2	1	1	1	2	0	10	10	2
Tri-Valley White 14U	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	4

The Dell Rapids 14U got two more league wins in back-to-back nights as they continued their impressive run through the I-29 League.

Dell Rapids defeated Madison 1-0 in eight innings in a great pitcher’s duel on Monday, June 28th at Volunteer Field in Dell Rapids.

Madison only had two hits in the game and got a runner as far as second base in the top of the second and then had a runner on third base in the top of the sixth inning, but they were unable to score.

Dell Rapids had multiple threats to score in the game, but couldn’t break through until the game-winning, RBI single by Tad Tjaden to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Tjaden had two hits and an RBI.  Logan Donovan had two hits.  Quinn Carr had a double.  Lincoln Fersdahl and Talan Millage both had a single.  Fersdahl was impressive on the mound pitching 6 2/3 innings allowing just two hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts.  Tjaden pitched 1 1/3 innings tallying three strikeouts.

Dell Rapids followed the big win over Madison with a 20-6 win in Baltic on Tuesday, June 29th.  Dell Rapids pounded 16 hits and scored in every inning, including seven runs in the seventh, in the victory.

Donovan and Fersdahl both had four hits and two RBIs.  Carr had two hits, including a home run, and three RBIs.  Cole Ruesink had two hits and an RBI.  Tjaden finished with two hits, one of those a triple.  Millage also had two hits.  Tristan Welch and Nick Snyder both had an RBI.

Carr pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing four runs, two earned, on four hits with four walks and 11 strikeouts.  Ruesink pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing two runs, both unearned, on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Dell Rapids scored five times in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead they would not lose on their way to a 13-8 win over SEBA Connell at Volunteer Field on Wednesday, June 23rd.

SEBA scored the first run in the top of the first inning, but Dell Rapids plated five runs in the bottom of the inning.  Noah Larson, Ian Zelmer, and Ethan Vanderwerf all had RBI singles.  Carson Crosby drew an RBI walk, and Tristan Welch scored on an error to give Dell Rapids a 5-1 lead.  Both teams scored a run in the bottom of the second inning.  Crosby drew his second bases-loaded walk for another RBI.

SEBA chipped away at the lead in the third and fourth innings.  They scored one run in the top of the third and two more in the top of fourth inning to cut the Dell Rapids lead to 6-5.  Dell Rapids, however, would score four times in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Zelmer had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Welch had a three-run double to push the Dell Rapids lead to 10-5.  SEBA scored two in the top of the sixth, but Dell Rapids scored three more times.  Larson had an RBI single, Kenny Swanson scored on a passed ball, and Jack Paterson had an RBI bases-loaded walk to make the score 13-7.  SEBA got one run in the top of the seventh.

Larson had two hits and two RBIs in the game.  Welch had a double and three RBIs.  Zelmer had a hit and two RBIs.  Vanderwerf finished with a single and an RBI.  Logan Donovan had a hit, Crosby had two RBIs, and Paterson had an RBI.

Swanson pitched two innings allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits with two walks and a strikeout.  Donovan pitched two innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on one hit with four walks and five strikeouts.  Brandon Schmidt pitched three innings giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Dell Rapids saw their nine-run lead shrink to four after a rally by West Central Gold, but Dell Rapids stopped any further rally by West Central and earned a 13-9 road victory on Tuesday, June 22nd.

Dell Rapids scored in the first five innings of the game.  They lead 6-3 after two innings of play and continued to build their lead through the fifth inning.  Dell Rapids led 13-4 heading into the sixth inning.  West Central rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 13-9.  Neither team scored in the final inning.

Quinn Carr had the hot bat for Dell Rapids.  Carr had three hits (one double and two triples) along with four RBIs.  Logan Donovan had two hits and an RBI.  Tad Tjaden had a triple and two RBIs.  Cooper Frost, Ethan Vanderwerf, and Grady Lamer all had a single.  Kenny Swanson and Lincoln Fersdahl both had an RBI. 

Tjaden pitched the first two innings allowing three earned runs on three hits with five walks and five strikeouts.  Frost pitched two innings allowing one earned run on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts.  Cole Ruesink pitched two innings allowing five runs, none of them earned, on two hits with three walks and a strikeout.  Carr pitched the final inning recording two strikeouts.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Dell Rapids 14U	2	4	2	2	3	0	0	13	9	4
West Central Gold 14U	1	2	1	0	0	5	0	9	7	3

Dell Rapids 14U got a run in the bottom of the first, and one more for good measure in the bottom of the sixth for a 2-0 win over Hills-Beaver Creek Blue 14U on Friday, June 18th at Volunteer Field in Dell Rapids.

Lincoln Fersdahl drove home the first run on an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning.  The other run came on an RBI double by Fersdahl in the bottom of the sixth.  The two teams combined for a total of just five hits.

Fersdahl had two of the three hits for Dell Rapids and both RBIs.  Cole Ruesink had the other a hit, a double in the sixth inning.

Ruesink pitched the first three innings allowing just one hit while striking out eight batters.  Fersdahl pitched the final four innings allowing a hit and two walks while striking out 11.

Dell Rapids will travel to Humboldt to play West Central 14U Gold on Tuesday, June 22nd.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HBC Blue 14U	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
Dell Rapids 14U	1	0	0	0	0	1	X	2	3	0

The Dell Rapids 14U team scored five runs in the first two innings and then six more runs in the fifth inning to earn an 11-3 win over Hamlin at home on Tuesday, June 15th.

Hamlin did get a run in the top of the first inning, but Dell Rapids took the lead for good in the bottom of the first inning.  Lincoln Fersdahl drove home two run for a 2-1 lead.  Dell Rapids added three runs in the bottom of the second on an RBI sacrifice fly by Cole Ruesink, an RBI single by Quinn Carr, and an RBI single by Brandon Schmidt to push the lead to 5-1.

Hamlin scored two times in the top of the fourth inning to cut the lead to 5-3, and the scored remained the same until the bottom of the fifth inning.  The first seven batters for Dell Rapids reached base safely.  Noah Larson and Carson Crosby had RBI singles.  Larson later scored on an error.  Carson Maeschen scored on a passed ball, and Carr drove home two with a double.

Carr finished with three hits, one a double, with three RBIs.  Fersdahl had a single with two RBIs.  Ruesink, Schmidt, Larson, and Crosby all had a single and an RBI.  Logan Donovan and Maeschen also had hits.

Carr pitched two innings allowing one earned run with two walks and five strikeouts.  Ruesink pitched three innings allowing two runs, both unearned, on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts.  Fersdahl pitched two innings giving up one hit and one walk with two strikeouts.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Hamlin	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	3	2
Dell Rapids 14U	2	3	0	0	6	0	X	11	10	3