West Central Blue 14U used a nine-run second inning to power them to an 11-5 win over Volga at home on Tuesday, June 21st.  This was the second win a row for West Central Blue and eighth overall on the season.

West Central scored all of their runs in the first two innings.  They got two runs in the bottom of the first, and then the big nine-run second inning to lead 11-0.  Volga got two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth.

Jack Sebert had a double, one of only four hits for West Central, and three RBIs.  Taten VanOverbeke had two singles and two RBIs.  Hayes Cain finished with a hit and an RBI.  Nick Lorang and Gavin Dehaven both had an RBI.  West Central took advantage of 10 Volga errors in the game.

Anthony Lanham pitched three innings and allowed only one hit and one walk with six strikeouts.  Sebert pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.  VanOverbeke threw 1 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, but all unearned, on one hit and one walk.

West Central Gold 14U cruised to a 15-1 win against Dell Rapids Red at home on Tuesday, June 21st.  West Central scored 11 runs in the bottom of the second and four more in the bottom of the fourth.

JT Steckley had two hits and an RBI.  Karson Olson had a double and five RBIs.  Lando Whiting also had a double with two RBIs.  Jacob Mallinger and Braxton Huber both had a single and two RBIs.  Jericho Klein finished with a double and an RBI.  Hayden Whiting had a single, and Bubba Kono had an RBI.

Steckley pitched 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit while walking one and striking out six.  Klein pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits with three strikeouts.

West Central Blue 14U broke a 5-5 tie with six runs in the top of the seventh to earn an 11-5 victory over Elkton on Wednesday, June 15th.

Dylan Bettcher drove home the first run for West Central in the top of the first on an RBI ground out.  Elkton scored twice in their half of the first for a 2-1 lead.  West Central scored the next four runs, scoring two times in the fourth and fifth innings.  Nick Lorang had a two run single, and Hayes Cain and Zach Lorang both scored on errors.  Elkton scored three times in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game 5-5.

West Central then had their big inning in the seventh.  Z. Lorang had an RBI ground ball, Bettcher scored on a pick-off attempt at third, Alex Siemonsma scored on a wild pitch, Z. Lorang scored on a wild pitch, Gavin Dehaven scored on an error, and N. Lorang stole home.

Z. Lorang had three hits, including a double, and an RBI.  N. Lorang had a single and two RBIs.  Siemonsma, Dehaven, and Taten VanOverbeke all had singles.  Bettcher finished with an RBI..  Siemonsma pitched four innings allowing two earned runs on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Ashton Gebhard pitched 1 1/3 innings allowing three unearned runs on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts. 

West Central Blue 14U played four tough games at the I-29 League Tournament held in Flandreau Friday, June 10th through Sunday, June 12th.  Unfortunately West Central only got one win in those four games. 

West Central Blue 1, Dell Rapids Navy 0

West Central and Dell Rapids played a great game on Friday afternoon.  The two teams combined for only six hits as both pitching staffs were fantastic all game long.  The difference came down a stolen base in the fourth inning, and West Central took advantage of it.

Jack Sebert started the top of the fourth with a single.  Two batters later he was able to steal second on the first pitch to Dylan Bettcher.  Sebert then advanced to third on a wild pitch later in the Bettcher at bat.  Bettcher put the ball in play on the very next pitch after the wild pitch, a ground out to short stop.  That ground ball allowed Sebert to score the only run of the game.

Dell Rapids got their lead-off batter on base in the top of the fifth inning.  He got to third base on ground outs by the next two batters, but was unable to score as the third out was recorded on another ground ball to short stop Anthony Lanham.

Sebert, Nick Lorang, and Taten VanOverbeke had the three hits for West Central.  Bettcher had the RBI.  Lanham pitched 2 1/3 innings allowing one hit while striking out four.  Ashton Gebhard pitched 1 2/3 innings allowing one hit and one walk with one strikeout.  Sebert also pitched an inning.

Flandreau 2, West Central Blue 1

West Central got locked into another low-scoring battle with Flandreau on Friday.  This time the teams combined for only four hits.  Flandreau’s two-run second inning was enough for the win.

West Central got their run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 2-1.  Bettcher hit a one-out single and later scored on a wild pitch.  Unfortunately West Central could not get a rally started in the fifth inning as their three batters were retired in order.

Bettcher and VanOverbeke each had a single in the game.  Sebert pitched all five innings allowing two runs, both unearned, on two hits with two strikeouts.

Madison Maroon 3, West Central Blue 1

Saturday’s game for West Central proved to be the same as Friday’s.  Pitching was once again a feature as only five hits total were allowed in the game. 

Madison took advantage of an error in the bottom of the first inning and scored two times on back-to-back singles.  They added another run in the bottom of the third on a single after an error for a 3-0 lead.  West Central got a run in the top of the fourth.  Gebhard grounded out to short stop, but brought home Bettcher for a run.

Sebert and Lorang had the only two hits for West Central.  Gebhard had an RBI.  Lanham pitched four innings and allowed three runs, all unearned, on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Flandreau 14, West Central Blue 12

Despite going 1-2 in their first three games, West Central advanced to Sunday and got a rematch with Flandreau.  This time the offenses combined for 26 runs, and runs were scored in every inning by at least one team as the lead went back and forth.

West Central struck first in the bottom of the first inning with a run.  Flandreau took the lead in the top of the second with two runs, 2-1.  West Central responded with a five-run bottom of the second and led 6-2 after two innings of play.

Flandreau scored the next four runs to tie the game.  They got a run in the top of the third and three more in the top of the fourth.  West Central broke the tie with a run in the bottom of the fourth and led 7-6 after four.  Flandreau then started to pull away.  They got three runs in the top of the fifth for a 9-7 lead.  After a run by West Central in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 9-8, Flandreau scored three more times in the top of the sixth.  West Central plated two runs in their half of the sixth, and Flandreau led 12-10 heading into the final inning.  Both teams scored two runs in the seventh, and Flandreau took the 14-12 win.

Lanham had two hits and an RBI.  Lorang added a hit and RBI.  Sebert and Alex Siemonsma both had a single.  Hayes Cain had an RBI as well.  Cain pitched three innings and allowed five earned runs on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Gebhard pitched three innings allowing nine runs, four earned, on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Siemonsma pitched an inning and recorded one strikeout.

 

West Central Gold 14U won one of their three games at the I-29 League tournament held in Flandreau on Friday, June 10th and Saturday, June 11th.  West Central defeated Tri-Valley Maroon, but lost their games to Volga and Parker.

Volga 12, West Central Gold 6

After West Central had a 4-0 lead, Volga scored nine straight runs to earn the 12-6 win on Friday.  West Central scored four times in the top of the first inning.  J Steckley drew a bases-loaded walk.  C DenBoer scored on a passed ball.  J Mallinger followed with an RBI single, and C Nelson also had an RBI single.

The lead was short-lived though.  Volga scored five times in the bottom of the first inning for a 5-4 lead.  Volga added three more in the second and another in the third for a 9-4 lead.  West Central got two more runs in the top of the fourth.  DenBoer reached on an error that scored a run, and L Maske scored on a seal of home to cut the lead to 9-6.  Volga, however, scored three more in the bottom of the inning for the win.

Nelson and Mallinger each had a hit and an RBI.  DenBoer had two hits.  Steckley had an RBI.  H Whiting pitched two innings and allowed nine runs, five earned, on seven hits and three walks with a strikeout.  K Olson also pitched two innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

West Central Gold 8, Tri-Valley Maroon 5

West Central scored seven runs in the final two innings to take an 8-5 victory in extra innings over Tri-Valley on Friday.

DenBoer drove home the first run on a double in the top of the first inning.  The score remained 1-0 until Tri-Valley scored four times in the bottom of the third.  West Central had a big top of the fifth inning.  Whiting hit an RBI single.  DenBoer added another run with an RBI double.  An error by Tri-Valley led to two runs that gave West Central a 5-4 lead.  Tri-Valley was able to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, 5-5, to force extra innings.

In the top of the sixth inning, Maske scored on a passed ball.  Whiting scored another run after stealing home, and Olson drove home the third run of the inning on an RBI single.

DenBoer had two doubles and two RBIs.  Whiting had three hits, including a double, and an RBI.  Olson had a single and RBI.  Mallinger, C Mebius, Steckley, and Maske all had hits in the game.  Mebius pitched three innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits and a walks with four strikeouts.  DenBoer pitched an inning and allowed an earned run on two hits and a walk and had one strikeout.  Olson pitched an inning and recorded a strikeout.  Mallinger pitched an inning and allowed one hit.

Parker 8, West Central Gold 3

Parker broke a 3-3 tie and scored five unanswered runs for an 8-3 win on Saturday.

Parker scored one run in the top of the first inning, but West Central got two in their half of the inning.  Mallinger reached on an error that also scored Kono.  Maske was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give West Central a 2-1 lead.  Parker got two runs in the top of the third.  DenBoer tied the game in the bottom of the third when he scored on an error.

Parker then scored a run in the fourth inning, but added four more in the top of the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Steckley had two hits.  DenBoer finished with a double.  Olson had a hit, and Maske had an RBI.  Steckley pitched four innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  Mallinger pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up two hits while striking out one.  DenBoer pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed four unearned runs on no hits.

West Central Blue 14U won their fifth straight game to start their season on Tuesday, June 7th.  West Central defeated Baltic 13-7 in Baltic.

West Central used three big innings for their win.  They scored five times right away in the top of the first inning.  Anthony Lanham had an RBI ground out for the first run.  Hayes Cain scored on a wild pitch.  Dylen Bettcher and Zach Lorang both had an RBI singles.  Z. Lorang later scored on an error in the big first inning.  Baltic scored a run in the bottom of first inning to make the score 5-1.

Both teams scored a run in the second inning.  Lanham had another RBI ground out in the top of the inning.  Baltic scored their run on an error.  Baltic then cut the lead to 6-4 with two runs in the bottom of the third.

West Central took control again with four runs in the top of the fourth.  Jack Sebert reached on an error which scored Cain.  Ashton Gebbhard had an RBI infield single, Z. Lorang scored on a wild pitch, and Nick Lorang had an RBI single to push the West Central lead to 10-4.  Baltic scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, but West Central put the game away with three more runs in the top of the seventh.  Gavin Dehaven had an RBI ground out, Alex Siemonsma scored on a passed ball, and Sebert was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Cain finished with three hits in the game.  N. Lorang had two hits and two RBIs.  Z. Lorang had two hits, one a double, and an RBI.  Gebhard also had two hits and an RBI.  Lanham finished with a single and two RBIs.  Sebert and Bettcher had a hit and an RBI.  Siemonsma had a hit, and Dehaven had an RBI.  Siemonsma pitched two innings and allowed four earned runs on three hits and four walks.  Sebert pitched two innings giving up three runs, one earned, on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Gebhard pitched three innings and allowed just one hit with four strikeouts.

The West Central Gold and Tri-Valley White 14U teams did battle in Humboldt on Tuesday, June 7th.  West Central Gold broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth and won the game 12-2.

West Central scored a run in the bottom of the first.  Lando Whiting had an RBI ground out for an early 1-0 lead.  Tri-Valley tied the game in the top of the third.  Brady Jewett had an RBI single to make it a 1-1 game.

The scoring then took off for West Central in the bottom of the fourth.  Jacob Mallinger had an RBI single, Braxton Huber added an RBI ground out, and L. Whiting stole home for a 4-1 West Central lead.  Sullivan Snethen stole home for Tri-Valley in the top of the fifth to cut the lead in half, 4-2, but West Central scored the next eight runs of the game.

Chase Nelson had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.  West Central then scored seven times in the bottom of the sixth, six of those coming with two outs.  Jericho Klein scored after a fly-out to right double play.  L. Whiting scored on a wild pitch, Nelson scored on an error, JT Steckley, Klein, Bubba Kono, and CJ DenBoer all had bases-loaded walks for RBIs.

For Tri-Valley Jewett had a hit and an RBI.  Austin Puetz had two hits, including a double.  Noah Eggert also had a single.  Snethen pitched three innings allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks.  Luke Strom pitched two innings allowing three earned runs on three hits and three walks with one strikeout.  Landon McGill pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up six runs on two hits and five walks.  Cooper Nielson allowed an earned run on four walks.

West Central was led by Klein and Mallinger with two hits and an RBI each.  L. Whiting and Nelson had a hit and an RBI.  Connor Mebius and Hayden Whiting each had a hit.  DenBoer had two RBIs.  Kono, Huber, and Steckley each had an RBI.  Klein pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing two runs, one earned, on a hit and five walks with seven strikeouts.  Kono pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up just one hit while striking out one.

The 14U baseball season for West Central has kicked off for the 2022 summer.  West Central has two teams playing in the I-29 League this year, West Central-Blue and West Central-Gold.

West Central-Blue is currently at the top of the standings after four games with a 4-0 record.  They have defeated Tea-D 11-0 (May 24th), Sioux Falls Christian 13-3 (May 26th), Hamlin 12-1 (May 31st), and Tea-P 22-1 (June 1st).  West Central-Blue will play Baltic on Tuesday, June 7th.

West Central-Gold is still in search of their first win of the season.  They fell to Dell Rapids-Navy 6-7 (May 24th), Madison Maroon 0-15 (May 26th), Flandreau 9-22 (May 31st), and Elkton 8-10 (June 1st).  They will host Tri-Valley White on Tuesday, June 7th.