Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

The Dell Rapids high school baseball team had their backs to the wall on Tuesday, May 25th, but scored three times in the final inning to secure a spot in the state tournament with a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Lennox.

Dell Rapids entered the Region 3B tournament as the #1 seed and was able to host three games at Rickeman Field.  They opened the tournament against #8 Tri-Valley on Tuesday afternoon and advanced to the final game with a 10-0 win in six innings.

Dell Rapids scored in every inning but the second inning, including three runs in the third and four more in the bottom of the sixth with two outs to end the game on the 10-run rule.  Jack Henry had a solid game on the mound pitching all six innings while only allowing two hits with two walks and 13 strikeouts.

Brayden Pankonen had two hits and an RBI.  Kaeden Eastman had a hit and an RBI.  Landon Ruesink, J. Henry, and Will Jaton all had an RBI in the game.  Treyse Eastman had Aiden Boechler both had singles.

Dell Rapids then faced #4 Lennox in a hard-fought, close game for a chance to move on to the state tournament.

Lennox scored first in the top of the first inning taking advantage of three walks and a Dell Rapids error in the inning.  Lennox led 1-0 after the first inning.

Dell Rapids, with only five hits in the game, took advantage of their limited time on the base paths.   Aiden Boechler singled in the bottom of the second inning, stole second and third, and then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 1-1.  T. Eastman reached base on an error to start the bottom of the third inning.  He advanced to third base on two passed balls, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Austin Henry to give Dell Rapids a 2-1 lead.  The third run came in the bottom of the fourth inning.  K. Eastman drew a lead-off walk and stole second and third base.  He later scored on an RBI single by Jaton, and Dell Rapids led 3-1 after four innings of play.

A. Henry kept Lennox off balance enough through five innings on the mound.  He never allowed a hit, and only gave up the one run in the first inning.  A. Henry throw 106 pitches in five innings of work while walking seven and striking out 12 batters.

Lennox was happy to see a new pitcher.  Pankonen pitched the sixth inning, and Lennox got the first three guys on base with two walks and a single.  A fielder’s choice ground out cut the lead to 3-2, but Peyton Eich drove home the trying run with an RBI single.  T. Eastman then took to the mound in the top of the seventh inning with the game tied 3-3.  After getting the first batter out, the next batter reached on an error.  Lennox then followed with two singles and a walk, and took the lead 5-3.  T. Eastman was able to get the last two batters out on strikeouts to keep the score 5-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

After the first batter was retired, things turned in Dell Rapids’ favor.  Jaton walked, Dylan Mathis was hit by a pitch, and T. Eastman walked to load the bases with one out.  Pankonen then drew a walk to bring home one run to cut the lead to 5-4.  Austin Henry followed with a hard line drive single to left to tie the game, but T. Eastman was thrown out at home trying to score the winning run.  During the action at the plate, Pankonen wisely advanced to third giving Dell Rapids runners on first and third with two outs.  Landon Ruesink was intentionally walked to fill the bases for a force out at any base, bringing K. Eastman to the plate.  On a 1-1 pitch, Eastman hit a ground ball to second, but forced a hurried throw as he sprinted down the first base line.  The throw skipped in the dirt, and everyone was safe allowing Pankonen to cross home plate as the winning run.

A. Henry finished with two hits and two RBIs in the game.  Jaton had a hit and an RBI.  Pankonen was credited with an RBI.  Ruesink and Boechler both had hits in the game as well.  Pankonen pitched one inning giving up two runs on two hits with three walks and a strikeout.  T. Eastman pitched an inning allowing two runs on a hit with one walk and two strikeouts.

Dell Rapids will be play in the 2021 South Dakota High School Baseball Association State B Tournament held at Sioux Falls Stadium on Monday, May 31st and Tuesday, June 1st.

The Dell Rapids High School club baseball team finished their regular season with an 8-0 win over Sioux Valley on Wednesday, May 20th at Rickeman Field in Dell Rapids. It was the third win in as many days and sixth in a row for Dell Rapids.

Dell Rapids jumped out of the gate early with three runs in the bottom of the first. Treyse Eastman singled to start the game for Dell Rapids, and then later scored by stealing home. Landon Ruesink brought home two runs on a single to give Dell Rapids the 3-0 lead.

They would add three more runs in the bottom of the third. Aiden Boechler had an RBI single. Jack Henry scored on another steal of home, and Dylan Mathis drove home a run with a single. J. Henry had an RBI bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth, and Boechler brought home another run on an RBI ground out to make the score 8-0.

T. Eastman pitched six innings giving up just four hits and two walks while striking out four batters. Ruesink pitched the final inning striking out one.

Boechler led the offense with three hits and two RBIs. Ruesink added two hits and two RBIs. Mathis also had a couple of hits and an RBI. J. Henry finished with a hit and RBI. T. Eastman finished with two hits in the game. Brayden Pankonen and Austin Henry each had a hit.

Dell Rapids finished the regular season as the #1 seed in Region 3B with a 9-0 region record and an overall record of 16-6. Dell Rapids will host the region games on Tuesday, May 25th. Dell Rapids will play the first game at 3:00 p.m. against Tri-Valley. McCook Central will play Lennox at 5:30 p.m. The two winners will meet at 8:00 p.m. with the winner of the final game qualifying for the state tournament. All three games will be at Rickeman Field.

Dell Rapids and Tea may have played the best game of the high school season at Rickeman Field in Dell Rapids on Tuesday, May 18th.  On the line was a #1 seed in Region 3B and neither team would give an inch as it took ten innings to decide a winner.

Both teams ended with nearly identical stat lines, both defenses made great plays, and both starting pitchers dominated the opposition.  Both Dell Rapids and Tea ended with four hits each and one error committed, but it was Dell Rapids that had the edge in the stat column that mattered, the run column.

Landon Ruesink drove home Austin Henry after Henry doubled with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning.  Henry’s doubled sailed to the left field corner, and was nearly caught on a great diving play by Ian Bennett.  Ruesink hit a hard ground ball up the middle on the very next pitch to bring home A. Henry for the game winner.

Starting pitchers Cameron Jensen and A. Henry put on a show for the big crowd on hand.  The first hit of the game didn’t come until Nate Babb hit a one-out single in the top of the sixth inning.  Logan Boom followed with a single of his own to put two runners on with one out.   Dell Rapids was able to work out of that threat to keep the game scoreless.

That was not the first threat Tea put together in the game.  They opened the game with a threat to score.  Two of the first three batters drew walks and advanced to third and second respectively before A. Henry got a strikeout and a pop out to work himself out of the first inning jam.

Dell Rapids didn’t get their first hit of the game off Jensen until the top of the seventh inning.  Brayden Pankonen reached on a one-out single.  Pankonen’s hit brought a change of pitchers for Tea.  Trevor Welch was brought into pitch, and picked Pankonen off first base after just one pitch.  With two outs A. Henry hit a single to left field, but Dell Rapids was unable to score, and the game went to extra innings.

Tea threatened again in the top of the eighth inning.  Babb got on base with a one-out single, and then Boom was hit by a pitch.  After a fielder’s choice ground out, Carter McGregor flew out to left field to end the inning.  Neither team got a base runner until the top of the 10th inning.  With two outs Tea again was close to pushing across the first run.  Babb singled, and Boom reached on an error putting runners on second and third with two outs.  Dawson Portner hit a ground ball to the short stop Jack Henry, but J. Henry played the infield hop perfectly and fired a strike to first to get the third out.

That play set up the game winning bottom of the 10th inning.  Pankonen grounded out to start the inning.  A. Henry’s double came on a 3-1 count before Ruesink’s game-winning hit.

Jensen pitched 6 1/3 innings for Tea allowing just one hit while walking no batter and striking out 11.  Welch took the loss giving up an earned run on three hits and one strikeout.

A. Henry pitched seven innings giving up two hits with three walks and 17 strikeouts.  Pankonen got the win giving up two hits in three innings of relief while striking out three batters.  A. Henry had two of the four hits, including the double.  Ruesink had the RBI hit, and Pankonen also had a hit.

Dell Rapids will be the #1 seed in the Region 3B playoffs with a 9-0 region record.  They are 14-3 against Class B teams and 15-6 overall.  Dell Rapids will finish the regular season at home against Sioux Valley on Wednesday, May 19th.

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

The Dell Rapids offense scored in every inning, including 10 runs in the third inning, while belting 14 hits in an 15-5 win over Flandreau at Rickeman Field on Monday, May 17th.  Dell Rapids’ two seniors, Kaeden Eastman and Brady Larson, were recognized prior to the game.

Flandreau got a couple of early runs in the top of the first inning on three hits.  Dell Rapids got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Brayden Pankonen scored on an RBI triple by Landon Ruesink.  Flandreau scored one more run in the top of the second inning off an error for a 3-1 lead.

Dell Rapids cut the lead back down to one run after an RBI ground out by Larson, scoring Jack Henry.  After Flandreau scored two more runs in the top of the third, Dell Rapids took control of the game.  They scored 10 times on eight hits and two dropped third strikes to take a 12-5 lead.  Dell Rapids would score two more times in the bottom of the fourth and one more in the bottom of the fifth to end the game on the 10-run rule.

Eight different players had a hit in the game for Dell Rapids.  J. Henry had three hits (two doubles and a triple) and three RBIs.  Treyse Eastman had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs.  Pankonen, Austin Henry, and Aiden Boechler all had two hits and an RBI.  Ruesink had a triple and two RBIs.  Jaton also had a hit and two RBIs.  Larson collected an RBI, and Kaeden Eastman had a hit as well.

Larson pitched one inning giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits with one walk and one strikeout.  J. Henry pitched four innings giving up two runs, one earned, on three this with three walks and five strikeouts.

Dell Rapids will host Tea on Tuesday, May 18th, and then finish the regular season at home against Sioux Valley on Wednesday, May 19th.

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

Dell Rapids got a 7-0 shutout win over Beresford at Rickeman Field on Wednesday, May 12th.  It was the third win in a row for Dell Rapids, and their fifth in their last six games.

The Dell Rapids defense got out of a first inning jam to start the game.  Beresford got their first batter of the game on base on a walk, but he was later picked off first by starting pitcher Jack Henry.  Beresford also had runners reach by an error and a single, but no runs were scored.

The score remained 0-0 until the bottom the third inning.  Aiden Boechler reached base on an error and was brought home by a single by Dylan Mathis.  Dell Rapids added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Kaeden Eastman started the inning with a single.  J. Henry drew a walk, and then Boechler hit a two-run triple to right field.  Will Jaton followed with an RBI single, and Dell Rapids led 4-0 after four innings of play.

Dell Rapids put three more runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Austin Henry got a lead off single, Landon Ruesink followed with a single as well, and then K. Eastman walked to load the bases with no outs.  A. Henry scored on a passed ball, and Ruesink came home on an RBI sacrifice fly by J. Henry.  A. Boechler added an RBI single for the seventh run of the game.

Boechler had two hits, one of them a triple, and three RBIs in the game.  A. Henry had two hits.  Jaton and Mathis both finished with a hit and an RBI.  J. Henry also had an RBI.  Sutton Williams, Ruesink, and K. Eastman also all had hits in the game.

J. Henry pitched six innings giving up just three hits while walking two and striking out 10 batters.  Brady Larson pitched the final inning getting two strikeouts.

Dell Rapids (13-6) will host Flandreau/Chester/Colman-Egan on Monday, May 17th, Tea Area on Tuesday, May 18th, and then Sioux Valley on Wednesday, May 19th to finish the regular season.

For four innings Dell Rapids and West Central were locked in a scoreless pitching duel at Rickeman Field on Monday, May 10th.  West Central finally broke the tie in the top of the fifth inning, but Dell Rapids scored three unanswered runs to win 3-1.

The two teams combined for just three hits through the first four innings of play.  Zach Madson led off the West Central fifth with a slow roller up the third base line for an infield single.  Madson advanced to third after an error on a throw over to first and then a passed ball.  Adam Parsons blooped a broken-bat single over a drawn-in infield for the first run of the game and a 1-0 lead for West Central.

Dell Rapids responded by getting the first three batters on base safely in the bottom of the fifth.  Brayden Pankonen drew a lead-off walk.  Austin Henry followed with a single, and Landon Ruesink tied the game with an RBI single.  A. Henry scored after an errant throw to second on a steal attempt by Ruesink.  That run gave Dell Rapids a 2-1 lead.  Dell Rapids added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Ruesink.

A. Henry pitched a complete game giving up a run on three hits with five walks and 14 strikeouts. 

Ruesink led the offense with two hits, one double, and two RBI.  Treyse Eastman, A. Henry, and Kaeden Eastman all had singles in the game.

Dell Rapids will host Beresford on Wednesday, May 12th.

A fourth-inning grand slam home run by Dylan Mathis electrified the Dell Rapids players and fans and helped spark a 9-5 win over Lennox on Sunday, May 9th in Lennox.

Lennox got a two runs in the bottom of the second inning to break the scoreless tie.  One run scored on a passed ball, and the other scored on a double to give Lennox a 2-0 lead after three innings of play.

Dell Rapids took advantage of a two-out error by Lennox in the top of the third inning.  Austin Henry followed the error with an RBI single, only the second hit of the game to that point for Dell Rapids.  That run scored made the score 2-1.

The offense then came alive for Dell Rapids in the top of the fourth inning.  Jack Henry hit a one-out single to deep shortstop.  After a passed ball, Aiden Boechler followed with a single to left field.  Will Jaton drew a walk to load the bases with one out.  Mathis then connected on a 2-0 pitch and sent the ball over the left field fence for the grand slam home run to give Dell Rapids a 5-2 lead.  The home run also fired up the Dell Rapids defense.

Lennox put together a threat in the bottom of the fifth after a lead-off single followed by a walk.  A. Henry was able to get a force out at third base on an attempted bunt, keeping runners at just first and second.  The next batter lined a single to center field to load the bases for Lennox with just one out.  Dell Rapids then pulled off a 3-6-3 double play to end the inning to keep the score 5-2.  Lennox did scratch another run across the plate in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-3 heading into the final inning.

Dell Rapids then started the seventh inning with three straight hits and then a Lennox error, and all of the sudden Dell Rapids was ahead 8-3.  J. Henry scored on a wild pitch to make the score 9-3.  Lennox did get a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough as Dell Rapids finished the game there at 9-5.

Mathis finished 1-3 at the plate with the home run and four RBIs.  A. Henry had three hits, including a double, and an RBI.  Landon Ruesink had a double.  Kaeden Eastman finished with two hits and two RBIs.  J. Henry had three hits in the game.  Treyse Eastman, Boechler, and Jaton each had a single.

Brayden Pankonen pitched six innings giving up three runs, all earned, on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts.  Ruesink pitched the final inning giving up two runs, both earned, on a hit with two strikeouts.

Dell Rapids (11-6 overall, 10-3 versus Class B, 6-0 versus Region 3B teams) will host West Central in a region game on Monday, May 10th.

With two outs and runners on second and third, trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh, Jake Jensen smacked a line drive to right field off of Austin Henry scoring the game-winning run to give Vermillion a 3-2 win over Dell Rapids on Friday, May 7th in Vermillion.

Vermillion did score the first run of the game after Jensen reached on a fielding error allowing Conner Saunders to score in the bottom of the third inning.  Dell Rapids took the lead in the top of the fifth inning after Kaeden Eastman hit an RBI single and then later scored on an RBI single by Dylan Mathis.  The score remained 2-1 in favor of Dell Rapids heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Vermillion got a lead-off single to start the seventh inning.  Saunders was out on a sacrifice bunt to move the tying run to second.  A dropped third strike allowed the next batter to reach, and both runners advanced putting the runners on second and third.  A. Henry got a strikeout of the next batter on a dropped third strike, but both runners held their base putting Vermillion at two outs.  That’s when Jensen came to the plate and then hit the game-winning single.

Treyse Eastman, A. Henry, and Aiden Boechler all had two hits in the game.  K. Eastman had a hit and RBI.  Mathis also had a hit and RBI.  Will Jaton picked up a single in the game.

T. Eastman pitched the first two innings and did not allow a hit while walking two and striking out two.  Jack Henry pitched four innings giving up two runs, both unearned, on two hits with one walk and six strikeouts.  A. Henry took the loss pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up an unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts.