West Central 16U held a brief lead after the top of the fifth inning, but Baltic scored seven times in the bottom of the fifth to get a 12-6 win on Thursday, June 30th.

Keaton Vessells had an RBI triple, and B Herr followed with an RBI single to give West Central a 2-0 lead after the top of the first.  Baltic cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the first.  They would take the lead with a two-run third inning, and then add two more in the bottom of the fourth.  Baltic led 5-2 after four innings of play.

West Central regained the lead in the top of the fifth.  Rayce Whiting reached on an error that scored Cade Vanderwoude.  Will Nester had an RBI ground out, and Whiting scored on an error to tie the game.  Vessells then had an RBI double to give West Central a 6-5 lead.  The lead was short-lived as Baltic scored seven times in the bottom of the fifth to take the win.

Vessells had two hits, a triple and double, with two RBIs.  Herr had a single and an RBI.  Whiting, Cain Grocott, and Jonathan Murray all had a single.  Nester had an RBI.  Grocott pitched three innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits and three walks.  Vessells pitched an inning and had a strikeout.  Vanderwoude threw two innings and allowed nine runs, eight earned, on 12 hits.

West Central scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to get walk-off, extra inning 6-5 win over Madison White on Tuesday, June 28th.

Madison scored a run right away in the top of the first.  West Central took the lead in the bottom of the second.  Brodie Herr had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Landen Holewa had an RBI single for a 2-1 lead.  They added another run in the bottom of the fourth.  Holewa reached on an error that also scored Cade Vanderwoude.

The score remained 3-1 until the seventh inning.  Madison scored two times and then held West Central scoreless to force extra innings.  Madison added another two runs in the top of the eighth for a 5-3 lead.

West Central loaded the bases with no one out on two walks and a single by Cain Grocott.  After a strikeout, Holewa drew a bases-loaded walk.  The next batter popped out, but the bases remained loaded with two outs.  Keaton Vessells then delivered a two-run line drive single to center field to win the game.

Vessells and Holewa both had a hit and two RBIs.  Grocott finished with two hits.  Rayce Whiting had a triple.  Will Nester and Jonathan Murray both had a single.  Herr added an RBI.  Herr pitched four innings and allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts.  Maison Schuldt pitched two innings and allowed one hit and four walks with three strikeouts.  Holewa pitched two innings and allowed four earned runs on two hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

West Central 16U played three games at the I-29 League Tournament held in Madison Friday, June 24th and Saturday, June 25th.  The team finished 2-1 in the three games.

West Central 13, Tri-Valley 8

A seven-run inning for West Central in the bottom of the fifth inning was the difference in the game on Friday against Tri-Valley.

Will Nester, Keaton Vessells, and Carter Evans all had RBIs in the bottom of the first to give West Central a 3-0 lead.  Tri-Valley countered with four runs in the top of the second.  Jesse Jost had an inside the park home run in the bottom of the second to tie the game 4-4.

West Central then took the lead in the bottom of the third with two runs.  Evans and Cade Vanderwoude both had an RBI single to give West Central a 6-4 lead.  Tri-Valley retook the lead with four runs in the top of the fifth, but West Central scored seven times in the bottom of the fifth to take the win.

Vessells had three hits, two doubles, and three RBIs.  Evans also had three hits, two of them doubles, and two RBIs.  Landen Holewa had two hits and two RBIs.  Jost had a home run and two RBIs.  Nester and Vanderwoude both had a single and an RBI.  Vessells pitched five innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits and five walks with seven strikeouts.  Nester pitched an inning and allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits and three walks.

West Central 11, Tea Bolts 7

The middle innings were the difference against the Tea Bolts on Saturday.  Both teams scored two runs in the first inning.  West Central put four runs on the board in the top of the third inning only to see Tea respond with three runs.

The big blow for West Central game in the top of the fourth inning when they scored three times.  Holewa had an RBI ground out, and Nester followed with a two-run double to give West Central a 9-5 lead.  Both teams then scored two runs in the sixth inning.

Holewa had two hits and three RBIs.  Nester had a double with three RBIs.  Vanderwoude finished with two hits.  Evans and Cyrus Maras both had a single.  Vessells and Cain Grocott both had an RBI.  Maras pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs, two earned, on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Grocott pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed a hit and had a strikeout.

Tea Gold 20, West Central 6

Tea had two big innings, one of them in the second, to earn a 20-6 win on Saturday.  The first two runs of the game for Tea came in the top of the first.  West Central got one back in the bottom of the inning.  Tea, however, scored eight times in the second inning and added one more in the third for an 11-1 lead.

West Central got one run in the bottom of the fourth, but once again Tea had another big inning.  They scored nine times in the top of the fifth inning.  West Central finished with four runs in the bottom of the fifth before the game ended on the 10-run rule.

Nester had a hit and an RBI.  Evans had the only other hit for West Central.  Holewa added an RBI.  Vanderwoude pitched four innings and allowed 11 runs, eight earned, on 15 hits and two walks with a strikeout.  Grocott pitched an inning and allowed two earned runs on two hits and a walk.  Holewa allowed seven runs, five earned, on a hit and a walk.

West Central 16U baseball played four games from Friday, June 17th through Sunday, June 19th.  They split those four games finishing 2-2 over the weekend.

Sioux Falls Post 15 West 16U 5, West Central 3

Sioux Falls Post 15 scored two times in the first inning and never trailed in a 5-3 win over West Central on Friday, June 17th.

West Central cut the lead in half, 2-1, when Jesse Jost scored in the top of the third.  Sioux Falls added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-1 lead.  Will Nester scored on an a fielder’s choice in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 5-2.  Nester doubled driving home Jost in the top of the seventh, but the rally ended after just one run.

Nester had two doubles and an RBI.  Landen Holewa had three hits.  Cain Grocott finished with two hits, one a double.  Jost also had two hits.  Keaton Vessells and Maison Schuldt each had a hit.  Schuldt pitched five innings and allowed five runs, three earned, on seven hits while striking out five.  Cyrus Maras pitched an inning and walked one batter.

West Central 8, Watertown Red Sox 16U 4

West Central scored early, plating five runs in the first two innings, in an 8-4 win over the Watertown Red Sox on Saturday, June 18th.

Jost hit an inside-the-park home run to start the bottom of the first inning for West Central.  Schuldt added an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.  Watertown scored one run in the top of the second, but West Central answered with three more in the bottom of the inning.  Nester had an RBI single, and Vessells brought home two with a double.

Watertown picked up two runs in the top of the third, but West Central extended the lead to 7-3 after two runs in the bottom oft the fourth.  Jost scored the first run of the inning, and Vessells added an RBI ground out.  Each team then scored a run in the sixth inning.

Jost had four hits, including the inside-the-park home run, with an RBI.  Vessells had a double and three RBIs.  Nester had a hit with two RBIs.  Schuldt finished with a single and an RBI.  Holewa, Cade Vanderwoude, and Jonathan Murray each had a hit.  Holewa pitched all seven innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on nine hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

West Central 10, Ralston 16U 2

West Central scored early and then pulled away late in a 10-2 win over Ralston on Saturday.  Vessells had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Schuldt had an RBI single in the top of the first for a 2-0 lead.  Nester was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the second, and West Central led 3-0.

Ralston scored two times in the bottom of the third to make it a 3-2 game after three innings.  West Central then pulled away with three runs in the top of the fourth on only two hits.  They then added four runs in the top of the fifth.  Murray had an RBI hit, and Nester brought home two more with a single.

Carter Evens had three hits in the game.  Nester had one hit and four RBIs.  Vessells finished with a triple and an RBI.  Schuldt and Murray both had a hit and an RBI.  Jost, Holewa, and Grocott all had a single as well.  Vanderworde pitched five innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts.

Sioux Falls Post 15 East 16U 12, West Central 0

Sioux Falls Post 15 East scored in every inning and held West Central to just two hits in a 12-0 win on Sunday.  Post 15 scored a run in the first, two in the second, one in the third, and eight more in the bottom of the fourth.

Holewa and Evens each had a hit.  Vanderwoude pitched two innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits with a strikeout.  Vessells pitched one inning and allowed an earned run on a walk with one strikeout.  Grocott pitched 1/3 of an inning allowing eight runs, seven earned, on six hits and two walks.

Dell Rapids 16U scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to break a 3-3 tie and get a 5-3 win over West Central 16U at home on Thursday, June 16th.

Dell Rapids scored the first two runs of the game, a run in the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the second.  West Central got three runs in the top of the fourth.  Jesse Jost, Keaton Vessells, and Will Nester all scored on ground ball errors in the inning for a 3-2 lead.

A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning for Dell Rapids tied the game at 3-3.  Dell Rapids then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with two runs, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Cain Grocott had a single and was credited with an RBI.  Vessells, Ty Sichmeller, and Landen Holewa each had a hit.  Maison Schuldt was also credited with an RBI.  Jost pitched three innings and allowed three runs, all unearned, on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Nester pitched an inning and recorded two strikeouts.  Grocott pitched two innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

West Central scored 10 unanswered runs and cruised to a 10-1 over Parker at home on Tuesday, June 14th.

Parker got an early run on a double in the top of the first, but that was it for them offensively.  They would not get another hit in the game.  West Central took the lead in the bottom of the inning with three runs.  Will Nester, Keaton Vessells, and Maison Schuldt all had run producing hits.  Three more runs were scored in the bottom of the second on hits by Landen Holewa and Vessells.

Rayce Whiting reached on an error that scored a run in the bottom of the third inning to extend the lead to 7-1.  Cain Grocott scored on a dropped third strike in the bottom of the fourth.  The final two runs came in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run single by Vessells.

Vessells had three hits, one a double, and five RBIs.  Holewa and Nester both had two hits and an RBI.  Brodie Herr also had a double in the game.  Holewa pitched three innings and allowed an earned run on a hit and two walks with four strikeouts.  Vessells pitched two innings walking three and striking out three.  Schuldt also pitched two innings and walked two and struck out two.

Madison Gold scored four times in the top of the sixth inning to take a 6-3 win over West Central on Sunday, June 12th.

Both teams scored two runs in the second inning.  West Central’s runs were scored on an RBI single by Cade Vanderwoude and a wild pitch.  They took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single by Maison Schuldt.  The score remained 3-2 until the top of the sixth when Madison scored four times.

Schuldt had two hits and an RBI.  Vanderwoude had a hit and an RBI.  Keaton Vessells finsihed with two hits.  Landen Holewa and Jonathan Murray both had hits.  Vanderwoude pitched six innings allowing six runs, three earned, on 10 hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.  Schuldt pitched an inning walking one and striking out three.

West Central 16U dropped both games of a doubleheader against Volga on Monday, June 6th.  VOlga took the first game 7-6 and then won the second game 16-4.

Game 1: Volga 7, West Central 6

Volga scored six of their seven runs in the final three innings to take the opening game 7-6.

West Central took the early lead with three runs in the top of the first. Keaton Vessells had a two-run single, and Cain Grocott had an RBI single.  Volga scored one in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 3-1.  The score remained 3-1 until the top of the fifth.  Brodie Herr had an RBI single. Cade Vanderwoude had an RBI sacrifice fly, and Will Nester had an RBI single to give West Central a 6-1 lead.  Volga, however, scored four times without a hit in the bottom of the fifth.  They tied the game with a run in the bottom of the sixth, and then got the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh on a passed ball.

Herr had two hits, including a double, and an RBI.  Nester and Grocott also had two hits each with an RBI.  Vessells had one hit and two RBIs.  Jesse Jost finished with two singles.  Jonathan Murray also had a hit, and Vanderwoude had an RBI.

Vanderwoude pitched two innings and allowed an earned run on two his with a walk and three strikeouts.  Grocott pitched 1 2/3 innings allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits and three walks with a strikeout.   Landen Holewa pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up four runs on six walks and two strikeouts.  Herr pitched 1/3 of an inning getting a strikeout.

Game 2:  Volga 16, West Central 4

Volga scored in every inning but the fifth, which included a seven-run fourth inning.  West Central got single runs in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings for their four runs.

Jost had three hits and an RBI.  Vessells finished with two hits.  Vanderwoude had a double.  Carter Evans had a single and an RBI.  Rayce Whiting, Nester, and Grocott each had a single.  Herr finished with an RBI.  Nester pitched two innings and allowed four earned runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Vessells threw one inning and allowed five earned runs on six walks and three strikeouts.  Jost also pitched an inning giving up seven earned runs on three hits and seven walks with one strikeout.   Herr pitched one inning recording two walks and three strikeouts.