The Dell Rapids Legion baseball season came to an end at the Region 2B tournament in Flandreau.  Dell Rapids lost their opening game to Flandreau on Monday, July 19th, and then lost an elimination game to Garretson on Tuesday, July 20th.

After Flandreau scored three times in the bottom of the second inning, Dell Rapids had a six-run top of the third inning for a 6-3 lead. Flandreau scored two in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 6-5, and they continued to put up runs in the remainder of the innings. Flandreau took the game 15-8.

Connor Libis had three hits and an RBI. Landon Ruesink and Kaeden Eastman both had two hits. Caleb Kittleson had a double and two RBIs. Noah Swartwout and Bryce Sommerfeld each had a hit and an RBI. Brady Larson also had a hit.

In an elimination game on Tuesday, July 20th, Garretson turned a close game through four innings of play into a big 17-2 win by scoring 14 runs in the final two innings to end the game on the 10-run rule.

Kittleeson and Ashaun Roach-Valandra each had a single and an RBI.  Zeb Schumaker had a triple.  Libis, Ruesink, and Swartwout also each had a single.

Dell Rapids’ season comes to an end with a 6-12 overall record.

The Dell Rapids Legion baseball team had their final two regular season games at Colton on Friday, July 16th.  Dell Rapids split the two games with Colton.  Colton won the first game 4-3, but Dell Rapids took the second game 7-4.

Noah Swartwout put Dell Rapids 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.  Swartwout had an RBI ground out to score Ashaun Roach-Valandra to give Dell Rapids a 2-0 lead.  Colton got one run back in the bottom of the sixth inning, and then tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to force extra innings.  Brady Larson drove home a run in the top of the 10th inning for Dell Rapids on an RBI single to left field, but Colton scored two times in the bottom of the 10th to take the win.

Larson had two hits and an RBI.  Roach-Valandra also had two hits.  Swartwout had a triple and an RBI.  Riley Peter added a double.  Landon Ruesink, Bryce Sommerfeld, and Connor Libis all had a single in the game.  Ruesink pitched 5 2/3 innings allowing an earned run on two hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.  Larson pitched 1/3 of an inning allowing a run on a hit.  Caleb Kittleson pitched 3 2/3 innings allowing two runs on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

In the five-inning second game, Colton scored first in the bottom of the first inning.  Dell Rapids tied the game in top of the second inning on an RBI single by Sommerfeld.  The scored was 1-1 after three innings of play.  Dell Rapids then scored four times in the top of the fourth inning.  Libis had an RBI double.  Riley Peter scored on a wild pitch, and then Swartwout had a two-run single to give Dell Rapids a 5-1 lead.  Dell Rapids added two more in the top of the fifth.  Both Libis and Roach-Valandra scored on wild pitches to push the lead to 7-1.  Colton put together a rally scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth, but Dell Rapids was able to stop the rally to secure the win.

Swartwout had a hit and two RBIs in the second game.  Libis had a double and an RBI.  Sommerfeld had a single and an RBI.  Ruesink and Kittleson also had singles in the game.  Andrew Van Dam pitched five innings allowing four runs, one earned, on six hits with seven strikeouts.

Dell Rapids will now play in a regional tournament Monday, July 19th through Thursday, July 22nd in Flandreau.  Dell Rapids will play Flandreau on Monday at 6:00 p.m.

After taking nearly a week off between games, Dell Rapids Legion traveled to Garretson on Tuesday, July 13th.  The home took the lead in the bottom of the third inning, and Garretson got the 6-4 win.

Dell Rapids struck first when Caleb Kittleson scored on an error of a ground ball by Zeb Schumaker in the top of the second inning.  Garretson tied the game in the bottom of the inning.  Dell Rapids took the lead again in the top of the third inning.  Landon Ruesink had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Kaeden Eastman scored on a wild pitch to give Dell Rapids a 3-1 advantage.  Garretson, however, scored three times in the bottom of the third to take a 4-3 lead.  Garretson added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to push the lead to 6-3.  Eastman had an RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth, but that was the last score of the game.

Noah Swartwout had two hits, including a triple.  Ruesink and Eastman both had a hit and an RBI.  Kittleson had a double, and Bryce Sommerfeld had a single.  Swartwout pitched three innings allowing four earned runs on five hits with four walks and a strikeout.  Jake Steineke pitched three innings allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits with two walks and a strikeout.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Dell Rapids	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	X	X	4	6	0
Garretson	0	1	3	2	0	0	X	X	X	6	6	1

Humboldt/Hartford scored two runs in the bottom of the first and never trailed in the game as they defeated Dell Rapids 4-2 in Humboldt on Wednesday, July 7th.

Humboldt/Hartford got two runners on by a walk with two outs in the bottom of the first, and then came a two-run single for an early 2-0 lead.  Dell Rapids got a run back in the top of the second on three hits in the inning.  Josh Deknikker delivered the RBI hit to cut the lead to 2-1.  Humboldt/Hartford got another run in the bottom of the third again taking advantage of two walks and a wild pitch.  The fourth run came in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single to make the score 4-1.  Dell Rapids added another run in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Brady Larson, but they couldn’t get a rally going in the seventh.

Larson had two hits and an RBI.  Caleb Kittleson also had two hits.  Deknikker had a hit and an RBI.  Landon Ruesink also had a hit.  Noah Swartwout pitched four innings allowing four earned runs on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.  Jake Steineke pitched two innings walking one batter and striking out seven.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Dell Rapids	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	X	X	2	6	2
Humboldt/Hartford	2	0	1	1	0	0	X	X	X	4	3	2

The Dell Rapids Legion team out hit Canova in the game, but Dell Rapids committed four errors, and Canova defeated Dell Rapids 4-1 on Tuesday, June 29th at Rickeman Field in Dell Rapids.

Canova struck first for three runs in the top of the third inning.  A walk, single, errant throw on a bunt, and a dropped third strike led to three runs for Canova for a 3-0 lead.

Dell Rapids got a run back in the top of the fourth on back-to-back doubles.  Noah Swartwout had the first double, and then Kaeden Eastman followed with a double for the RBI. 

Canova got their fourth run on a fielder’s choice ground ball in the top of the sixth inning.  Dell Rapids looked to be putting together a rally in the bottom of the seventh.  Eastman started the inning with a single, and Jake Steineke followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs, but the next three batters went down in order ending any rally for Dell Rapids.

Eastman had two hits, one a double, and an RBI.  Swartwout, Steineke, and Riley Peter all had a double in the game.

Swartwout pitched five innings allowing four runs, just one earned, on three hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts.  Caleb Kittleson pitched two innings not allowing a hit while striking out three batters.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Canova	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	X	X	4	3	0
Dell Rapids	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	X	X	1	5	4

After seeing an 8-1 lead shrink to 8-7, Dell Rapids scored seven unanswered runs for a 15-7 win over Volga on Thursday, June 24th at Rickeman Field in Dell Rapids.

Landon Ruesink put Dell Rapids on the board first with a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the first inning.  Volga got one run in the top of the second inning, but Dell Rapids responded with one of their two big innings in the bottom half of the inning.  Andrew Van Dam had an RBI sacrifice fly to score Zeb Schumaker.  Connor Libis scored on a steal of home.  Ruesink had a two-run triple and then scored on a wild pitch.  Josh Deknikker and an RBI double, and Dell Rapids led 8-1 after two innings.

The scored remained 8-1 heading into the top of the fifth inning.  That’s when Volga scored six times on four hits and cut the Dell Rapids lead down to one run at 8-7.  Dell Rapids got one back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI sacrifice fly by Libis.

Dell Rapids then put the game out of reach in the bottom of the sixth by having another six-run inning.  Ruesink scored on a balk.  Brady Larson had an RBI sacrifice fly out.  Deknikker had an RBI ground ball where he reached via an error.  Deknikker later scored on a wild pitch.  Van Dam had an RBI single, and Libis scored on another wild pitch to give Dell Rapids a 15-7 lead.  Volga loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but was unable to score.

Ruesink had two hits, a home run and triple, and had four RBIs.  Van Dam had two hits and two RBIs.  Libis had two hits and an RBI.  Deknikker had a double and an RBI.  Schumaker had a double, and Kaeden Eastman had a hit.  Larson had an RBI.

Noah Swartwout pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing seven runs, but only one earned, on four hits with seven walks and two strikeouts.  Ruesink pitched the final 2 1/3 innings allowing one hit with three walks and four strikeouts.

Dell Rapids will host Canova on Tuesday, June 29th

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Volga Legion	0	1	0	0	6	0	0	X	X	7	5	1
Dell Rapids Legion	2	6	0	0	1	6	X	X	X	15	9	2

Madison had a six-run fifth inning that was the difference in the game as they defeated Dell Rapids 12-8 at Rickeman Field on Wednesday, June 23rd.

Jake Steineke gave Dell Rapids an early 3-0 lead with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning.  Madison got one run in the top of the second on back-to-back hits to start the inning.  Madison got another run in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Dell Rapids lead to 3-2.

Then came the big inning for Madison.  The first three batters reached on a double, triple, and then single to give Madison a 4-3 lead.  Dell Rapids got the next two batters, but Madison followed with a triple, walk, single, and double to push the lead to 8-3.

Riley Peter had an RBI single for Dell Rapids in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Madison lead in half at 8-4.  Madison padded their lead with four runs in the top of the seventh off of two hits while taking advantage of two walks and two errors.

Dell Rapids put together a rally with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.  Landon Ruesink had a two-run double.  Steineke drove home two more runs on a double to cut the lead to 12-8, but the rally ended there for Dell Rapids.

Steineke had three hits, including a home run and double, and five RBIs.  Noah Swartwout and Kaeden Eastman both had two hits.  Ruesink had a double and two RBIs.  Peter finished with a hit and an RBI.  Josh Deknikker also had a hit.

Brady Larson pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing eight earned runs on 12 hits with one walk and one strikeout.  Andrew Van Dam pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing four runs, one earned, on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Dell Rapids Post 65 was held to just one hit as Vermillion went home with a 14-0 win on Monday, June 21st.

Vermillion put Dell Rapids in a big hole right away in the first inning.  They scored five runs in the top of the first and then added eight more in the top of the second inning.  The final run scored in the top of the fourth.

Landon Ruesink had the lone hit for Dell Rapids, a single to right field in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Noah Swartwout took the loss on the mound throwing 1 1/3 innings allowing eight runs, three earned, on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts.  Caleb Kittleson pitched 1 2/3 inning allowing five runs, none of them earned, on six hits with one walks.  Brady Larson pitched one inning allowing an earned run on two hits with two strikeouts. 

Dell Rapids (4-5) will host Madison on Wednesday, June 23rd.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Vermillion Post 1	5	8	0	1	X	X	X	X	X	14	11	0
Dell Rapids Post 65	0	0	0	0	X	X	X	X	X	0	1	4

The Dell Rapids Legion team finished a stretch of five games in three days with a double-header against Sioux Falls Post 15 Black on Wednesday, June 16th and then a trip to Volga on Thursday, June 17th.

Sioux Falls handed Dell Rapids two losses as they won the first game 14-3 and the second game 21-12.  Sioux Falls had a five-run third and eight-run fifth inning in the first game to get the win.

In the first game, Noah Swartwout had two hits, including a double, with two RBI.  Kaeden Eastman had a hit and RBI.  Jake Steineke, Brady Larson, Caleb Kittleson, and Connor Libis all had hits.  Kittleson pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, on 13 hits with two walks and two strikeouts.  Eastman pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing three earned runs on a hit with three walks and two strikeouts.

Ashaun Roach-Valandra had three hits, including a triple, and two RBIs in the second game.  Riley Peter finished with two hits and three RBIs.  Swartwout and Steineke each had two hits, and each with a double, and an RBI.  Bryce Sommerfeld had two hits, and Landon Ruesink and Eastman both had a hit.  Swartwout pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing seven runs, six earned, on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts.  Libis pitched 1/3 of an inning allowing five earned runs on four hits with three walks and a strikeout.  Sommerfeld pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up nine runs, eight earned, on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Dell Rapids bounced back the next night with a 12-8 eight over Volga on the road.  After Volga tied the game late in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dell Rapids scored five times in the top of the seventh to earn the victory.

Ruesink finished with three hits, one a triple, and three RBIs.  Eastman had two hits and two RBIs.  Larson also had two hits and an RBI.  Kittleson had a home run and two RBIs.  Andrew Van Dam had a double and two RBIs.  Sommerfeld had a hit and RBI.  Roach-Valandra had a hit, and Josh Deknikker had an RBI.  Ruesink pitched five innings allowing four runs, three earned on five hits with four walks and nine strikeouts.  Roach-Valandra pitched two innings and gave up four earned runs on two hits with five walks and a strikeout.

The Dell Rapids Legion baseball team traveled to Flandreau for a double-header and scored 38 runs in two wins on Tuesday, June 15th.  Dell Rapids won the first game 24-6 and then won the second game 14-1.

Both teams scored three runs in the first inning of the first game.  Flandreau then scored a run in the bottom of the second for a short-lived 4-3 lead.  Dell Rapids then scored three runs in the third, four more in the fourth, and then posted a whopping 14 runs in the fifth resulting in the 10-run rule win in five innings.

Caleb Kittleson had four hits, two doubles, and four RBIs.  Brady Larson had four hits, one double, and three RBIs.  Noah Swartwout had three hits and four RBIs.  Bryce Sommerfeld had two hits and two RBIs.  Riley Peter had a double and two RBIs.  Jake Steineke and Ashaun Roach-Valandra had a hit and RBI.  Kaeden Eastman also had a hit. 

Larson pitched five innings allowing six runs, four earned, on 10 hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Dell Rapids continued to light up the scoreboard in the second game.  They scored five runs in the first inning and eight in the second inning on their way to a 14-1 win in the second game. 

Kittleson had two more hits, one a double, with two RBIs.  Larson had two hits, one a triple, and an RBI.  Steineke and Roach-Valandra both had a double with three RBIs.  Eastman had two hits.  Swartwout and Andrew Van Dam both had singles.  Zeb Schumaker had an RBI. 

Van Dam pitched five innings allowing one run, unearned, on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Dell Rapids	3	0	3	4	14	X	X	X	X	24	17	4
Flandreau	3	1	0	1	1	X	X	X	X	6	10	10

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Flandreau	0	0	0	1	0	X	X	X	X	1	3	6
Dell Rapids	5	8	0	1	X	X	X	X	X	14	10	1