The West Central 16U baseball team finished 1-2 at the 2022 South Dakota VFW Class A State Tournament and finished fourth.  The tournament was hosted by Dakota Valley in North Sioux City Friday, August 5th through Sunday, August 7th.

West Central 10, Flandreau 0

West Central earned a shutout win over Flandreau in the opening round of the tournament on Friday.  After a scoreless first inning, West Central got on the board in the bottom of the second.  Cain Grocott had an RBI groundout for a 1-0 lead.

The big inning game in the bottom of the third.  Jesse Jost had an RBI single.  Landen Holewa followed with an RBI bunt single, and then Hayes Cain scored on an error to make the score 4-0.  Holewa later scored on a passed ball, and Grocott had an RBI single for a 6-0 lead.  West Central then scored four more times in the bottom of the sixth.  Holewa had a bases loaded walk, Will Nester had an RBI single, and Jost and Holewa scored on wild pitches to end the game on the 10-run rule.

Jost had two hits and an RBI.  Holewa finished with a hit and three RBIs.  Grocott had a hit and two RBIs.  Nester added a single and RBI.  Keaton Vessells, Maison Schuldt, Jack Sebert, and Jonathan Murray all had singles as well.  Sebert pitched four innings and allowed two hits with four strikeouts.  Cade Vanderwoude pitched two innings and allowed a walk with three strikeouts.

Tea 10, West Central 1

Tea got all 10 of their runs before West Central could score in the semi-final round on Saturday.  The first run came in the top of the second, and Tea led 1-0 after three innings of play.  They then had a five-run fourth inning.  Tea got two more runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

West Central’s lone run came in the bottom of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Jost.

Jost had two of the five hits and also an RBI.  Sebert, Carter Evans, and Karson Vessells all had a single.  Ke. Vessells pitched 3 2/3 innings and allowed six runs, five earned, on five hits and four walks with eight strikeouts.  Cyrus Maras pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts.  Alex Siemonsma pitched 2/3 of an inning.

Dell Rapids 11, West Central 3

Dell Rapids scored three runs in the top of the first inning for an early 3-0 lead in the third/fourth place game on Sunday.  They added another run in the top of the third.  West Central cut the lead in half with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Nester scored on a wild pitch, and Schuldt had an RBI sacrifice to the pitcher for a 4-2 score.

After Dell Rapids scored one run in the top of the fifth, they delivered the big blow in the top of the sixth.  Dell Rapids scored six times to push the lead to 11-2.  Jost scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh for West Central’s final run of the tournament.

Nester finished with two of the team’s four hits.  Schuldt had a single and an RBI, and Ke. Vessells had a single.  Schuldt pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed four hits, three earned, on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts.  Holewa pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs, all unearned, on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts.  Sebert pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed two hits with two strikeouts.

The West Central 16U baseball team claimed the Region 3A title with a 5-1 win over Dell Rapids on Wednesday, July 27th in Humboldt. 

West Central broke a 0-0 tie with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.  Landen Holewa had an RBI single, and Will Nester followed with a two run single for a 3-0 lead.  After Dell Rapids scored one run in the top of the fifth, West Central added two more in the bottom of the inning.  Holewa reached on an error that scored Jesse Jost, and Nester added another RBI with a single.

Keaton Vessells kept the Dell Rapids hitters baffled all night.  He allowed one earned run on no hits and four walks while recording 11 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.  Nester pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed two hits.

Nester finished with two hits and three RBIs in the game.  Holewa had a single and two RBIs. Cain Grocott finished with two hits.  Ke. Vessells, Carter Evans, Jonathan Murray, and Karson Vessells all had a single in the game.

West Central will play Flandreau in the first game of the 2022 South Dakota VFW Class A 16U State Tournament on Friday, August 5th at 12:00 p.m.  The tournament is being hosted by Dakota Valley in North Sioux City.

West Central erased a 6-0 deficit to get a 7-6 extra inning win over Dell Rapids in the Region 3A tournament on Tuesday, July 25th.  Because there are only four regions, the top two teams from Region 3A will qualify for the state tournament.  West Central advancing to the championship game means a state tournament spot.

Dell Rapids built a 6-0 lead in the first three and a half innings.  They scored three runs in the top of the second, two in the top of the third, and one more in the top of the fourth.  West Central started their comeback in the bottom of the fourth with two runs.  Keaton Vessells had an RBI double and then scored on an RBI ground ball by Maison Schuldt.

West Central continued the rally in the fifth inning.  Jesse Jost had an RBI single, and Vessells was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cut the lead to 6-4.  Jost had another RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-5 game.  Carter Evans brought home Schuldt to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, but Cain Grocott was thrown out at home to keep the game tied and force extra innings.

Neither team scored in the eighth inning.  Dell Rapids got a one-out single in the top of the ninth, but was unable to advance the runner any further.  Landen Holewa was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the ninth.  He advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then moved to third on a single by Alex Siemonsma.  Vessells delivered the game-winning, walk-off single to center field.

Evans had three hits and an RBI.  Vessells had two hits, one a double, and three RBIs.  Jost also had two hits and two RBIs.  Schuldt added a single and an RBI.  Will Nester, Siemonsma, and Grocott all had a hit.

Cade Vanderwoude pitched three innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits with one strikeout.  Cyrus Maras pitched four innings and allowed an earned run on four hits with two strikeouts.  Jack Sebert pitched two innings and allowed one hit and one walk with two strikeouts.

West Central had a four-run sixth inning rally to earn a 7-3 win over Tri-Valley at the Region 3A tournament in Humboldt on Monday, July 25th.  The four-run rally broke a 3-3 tie.

After three innings of scoreless baseball, West Central scored three times in the bottom of the fourth.  Landen Holewa scored the first run on a wild pitch.  Will Nester then scored on an error by the catcher.  Bubba Kono scored the third run on an error for a 3-0 lead.  Tri-Valley would get a run in the top of the fifth inning and then tied the game with two runs in the top of the sixth.

West Central’s first four batters reached in the inning to spark their rally.  Cain Grocott had an RBI single.  Jonathan Murry was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  Jesse Jost was walked with the bases loaded, and Holewa was also hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the fourth run.

Holewa had two hits and an RBi.  Grocott had a single and an RBi.  Keaton Vessells added a double.  Maison Schuldt pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts.  Jack Sebert pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed an unearned run on a hit and walk with two strikeouts.

West Central 16U split a doubleheader with Lennox on Tuesday, July 19th.  The first game went to West Central 8-7, but the second game was won by Lennox 2-6.

West Central 8, Lennox 7

West Central scored the first eight runs in the three innings and then held off a Lennox rally to win the first game.  Jesse Jost scored on an error, Will Nester had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Cain Grocott had an RBI single in the top of the first for a 3-0 lead.

Jost had an RBI single, Rayce Whiting scored on a wild pitch, and Maison Schuldt had an RBI single in the top of the second to extend the lead to 6-0.  Cade Vanderwoude had a bases-loaded walk, and Whiting had an RBI sacrifice fly in the third.  West Central led 8-0 after they were done hitting in the top of the third.  Lennox put together a big rally in the bottom of the third scoring five times.  They added a run in the fifth and sixth inning.  The tying run was on third and winning run on second with two outs, but Keaton Vessells got a strikeout to end the game.

Grocott finished with two hits and an RBI.  Jost, Schuldt, and Whiting all had a hit and an RBI.  Vessells and Carter Evans both added singles.  Nester and Vanderwoude added an RBI.  Grocott pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, three earned, on two hits and four walks with a strikeout.  Vessells pitched 3 2/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts.

Lennox 6, West Central 2

Lennox built a 3-0 lead which was enough to take the second game.  They scored two runs in the bottom of the second and another in the third to lead 3-0 after three innings.  Nester scored on a wild pitch in the top of the fourth.  Lennox responded with two more runs in the bottom of the inning.  Cyrus Maras also scored on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth inning.  Lennox also scored their last run in the fifth.

Jost had the only hit in the game for West Central.  Vanderwoude pitched five innings and allowed six earned runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts.

West Central battled back from a 5-0 deficit, but fell in extra innings at home to Dell Rapids 7-6 on Monday, July 18th.

Dell Rapids got a run right away in the top of the first, another in the second, and three more in the to of the third for an early 5-0 lead.  West Central was able to get a couple of runs in the bottom of the third.  Keaton Vessells drove home two with a single.  After Dell Rapids got one more run in the top of the fifth, West Central scored three times.  Will Nester had an RBI sacrifice fly.  Jesse Jost scored on an error, and Landen Holewa stole home to make the score 6-5.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Vessells had an RBI single to right field to score Holewa and tie the game 6-6.  Dell Rapids got an RBI ground out in the top of the eighth to regain the lead 8-7.  West Central had the tying run on second base with two outs.  Jonathan Murray reached on an error, but Maison Schuldt was thrown out at home to end the game.

Vessells had two hits and three RBIs.  Holewa had two hits.  Nester finished with a hit and an RBI.  Carter Evans and Rayce Whiting both had a single.  Cyrus Maras pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Schuldt pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed an unearned run on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Nester pitched three innings and allowed an earned run on two walks and two strikeouts.

West Central 16U scored six times in the top of the eighth to get a 9-4 win over Madison Gold on Thursday, July 14th in Madison.

Madison took the first lead, 2-0, with a two-run bottom of the second inning.  West Central tied the game with two runs in the top of the third.  Will Nester had an RBI single, and Keaton Vessells had an RBI ground ball.  Madison grabbed the lead again, 3-2, with a run in the bottom of the third.  Carter Evans scored on an error in the top of the fourth to tie the game 3-3.

The game would remained tied 3-3 after seven innings to go into extra innings. That’s when West Central put a big number on the board.  Maison Schuldt had an RBI double.  Jesse Jost added a two-run single.  Landen Holewa had an RBI ground out, Jost scored on an error, and Vessells capped off the inning with an RBI double.  Madison got just one run in the bottom of the eighth.

Nester had three hits and an RBI.  Jost had a hit and two RBIs.  Vessells and Schuldt each had a double and an RBI.  Murray also had a double.  Evans finished with a single, and Holewa had an RBI.  Vessells pitched five innings and allowed three runs, none earned, on one hit and five walks with nine strikeouts.  Holewa pitched three innings and allowed an unearned run on one hit and two walks with two strikeouts.

An big early lead helped West Central 16U to a win over the Tea Bolts at home on Tuesday, July 12th.  West Central scored 11 runs in the first two innings to secure a 15-10 victory.

Jesse Jost scored on a wild pitch and Landen Holewa scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the first for a 2-0 lead.  Tea tied the game with two runs in the top of the second, but West Central responded with a big bottom of the second inning.  Carter Evans and B Herr had back-to-back RBI singles.  Jost drove home two with a double.  Holewa followed with a two-run single.  Holewa then scored on a passed ball.  Maison Schuldt had an RBI double, and Cain Grocott added an RBI single to give West Central an 11-2 lead.

West Central got another run in the bottom of the third to make it a 12-2 score.  Tea tried to put together a comeback as they scored four times in the top of the fourth.  West Central got one run back in the bottom of the inning.  The Bolts added another run in the top of the fifth and two more in the top of the sixth to make the score 13-9.  West Central pushed the lead back to six runs with two in the bottom of the sixth.  Evans had an RBI ground out, and Cyrus Maras had an RBI sacrifice bunt.  Tea got just one run in the top of the seventh.

Grocott had three hits, including a double, and an RBI.  Jost finished with two hits, one a double, and three RBIs.  Holewa had a triple and two RBIs.  Evans had a single and two RBIs.  Schuldt finished with a double and an RBI.  Keaton Vessells and Herr both had a single and an RBI.

Will Nester pitched four innings and allowed six runs, three earned, on seven hits and three walks with a strikeout.  Cade Vanderwoude pitched two innings and allowed an earned run on a hit and a walk with three strikeouts.  Jost pitched one inning and allowed three runs, two earned, on two hits and five walks with three strikeouts.

The West Central 16U baseball team got behind early and lost 7-3 to Harrisburg on Sunday, July 10th.  Harrisburg scored four times in the top of the first inning and added another in the top of the fourth for a 5-0 lead.

West Central got a run in the bottom of the fourth.  Will Nester had an RBI ground out.  They then closed the gap to 5-2 with another run in the bottom of the fifth.  Bubba Kono had an RBI fielder’s choice.  Harrisburg, however, added two runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 7-2.  Hayes Cain had an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

Cain had two hits and an RBI.  Jesse Jost and Cain Grocott both had two hits each.  Landen Holewa, Keaton Vessells, and Carter Evans all had a single.  Nester and Kono each added an RBI.  Holewa pitched six innings and allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits and seven walks with six strikeouts.  Grocott pitched one inning and allowed one walk and had two strikeouts.

The West Central 16U baseball team played three games in Brookings between Friday, July 8th and Saturday, July 9th.  West Central finished 1-2 over the three games.

West Central 6, Brookings Bullets 16U 4

The first game of the weekend was a win for West Central over Brookings Bullets 16U on Friday.  West Central rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fifth to earn the come-from-behind victory.

Brookings scored in the top of the first inning, but West Central responded with a run as well in the bottom of the inning.  Jesse Jost scored on an error by the catcher to tie the game 1-1.  Brookings took the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth inning, but West Central also had their big inning, and all with two outs.

Cain drew a bases-loaded walk for the first run.  Cain Grocott scored on a wild pitch.  Cade Vanderwoude had a two-run single and then later scored on a steal of home to give West Central a 6-4 lead.  Neither team scored in the sixth inning, and Brookings was held scoreless in the top of the seventh.

Vanderwoude had a hit and two RBIs.  Jost had a double.  Cain finished with an RBI.  Cyrus Maras pitched five innings and allowed four earned runs on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts.  Maison Schuldt pitched two innings and allowed just one hit and two walks with one strikeout.

New Ulm C 5, West Central 3

West Central had a 3-1 lead after five innings of play, but New Ulm scored four times in the bottom of the sixth to get the 5-3 win on Friday.

Keaton Vessells had an RBI ground out in the top of the first for West Central.  Carter Evans reached on an error that scored Grocott in the top of the second.  Will Nester scored on an error in the top of the third that had given West Central a 3-0 lead.

Nester had both of the hits for West Central.  Vessells had an RBI.  Vessells also pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed five runs, all unearned, on six hits and six walks with 11 strikeouts.  Maras pitched 1/3 of an inning.

West Central Falls 4-3 in Final Game

In the final game of the weekend on Saturday, West Central lost a back-and-forth game 4-3.

West Central found themselves trailing 2-0 after the bottom of the third inning, but tied the game with two runs in the top of the fourth.  Vessells had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Schuldt had an RBI ground out to tie the game 2-2.  After a run in the bottom of the fifth, West Central tied the game in the top of the seventh to force extra innings.  Grocott scored on a wild pitch to make it a 3-3 game.  The walk-off run came in the bottom of the eighth on an error.

Jost, Nester, and Grocott all had singles in the game.  Vessells and Schuldt each had an RBI.  Vanderwoude pitched seven innings and allowed three runs, none of them earned, on 10 hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Schuldt pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk with a strikeout.