The Hartford Sparx won the 2021 South Dakota 18U B Division Fastpitch State Tournament championship held at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls Friday, July 9th through Sunday, July 11th.

The Sparx opened the tournament with a 12-3 win over the Rebels on Friday.  Hartford scored in every inning, including eight in the fourth, for the win.  Addy Kramer had three hits, two doubles and a home run, with four RBIs.  Grace Harden had three hits and three RBIs.  Olivia Brown had three hits, including a home run and a double, with two RBIs.  Caitlyn Maa had two hits and an RBI.  Avery Evans had two hits, one a double.  Riley Morrison had two hits.  Brooke Opitz had a double and an RBI.  McKenna Sichmeller had a hit, and Jenna Lueth had an RBI.  Taylor Kunzweiler pitched five innings allowing three earned runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Hartford won their second game on Friday against Fusion Heat 4-0.  The Sparx got a run in the first, two more in the fifth, and another in the sixth while holding Fusion Heat to just three hits.  Maa had a double and two RBIs.  Kunzweiler had two hits.  Morrison had a hit and an RBI.  Opitz and Harden both had singles.  Kramer also had an RBI.  Harden pitched seven innings allowing just three hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

In the semifinals of the winner’s bracket, the Sparx defeated Mitchell Adrenaline 11-2 to advance to the championship game undefeated.  Hartford again scored in every inning while pulling away from Mitchell for the win.  Opitz had three hits, including a home run and double, with three RBIs.  Maa had two hits and five RBIs.  Lueth finished with two hits.  Harden had a hit and two RBIs.  Evans and Morrison both had a hit as well.  Harden pitched four innings allowing two runs, both unearned, on four hits with three strikeouts.

Hartford met Fusion Heat in the championship game.  The scoreless game was broken in the bottom of the third when Fusion Heat got a home run.  It was just one of their three hits, but was the difference in the game as Fusion Heat beat the Sparx 1-0 to force a second championship game.  Evens had two hits for Hartford.  Opitz, Harden, Kunzweiler, and Sichmelleer all had singles.  Harden pitched five innings allowing one earned run on three hits with three strikeouts.

With each team now having one loss, the Sparx and Fusion Heat played one more time to determine the championship.  This time the Sparx used a pair of four run innings to take the title with an 8-3 win.  Fusion Heat scored three runs in the top of the second, but Hartford had a four-run bottom of second inning and four-run third inning for the win.

Harden had three hits, including a double, and three RBIs.  Opitz had two hits and an RBI.  Sichmeller had a double and two RBIs.  Kramer had a solo home run.  Morrison had a single and RBI.  Evans also had a hit.  Harden pitched four innings allowing three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

The Hartford Sparx won a double-heeader against Yankton Fury Red on Tuesday, June 29th.  The Sparx won the first game 3-1 and won the second game 11-6.

The Sparx scored first in the opening, low-scoring game.  Hartford got a single run in the bottom of the second.  Yankton tied the game in the top of the third, but Hartford scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning.  Those two runs were the final runs scored in the game.

Grace Harden and Avery Evans both had a single and RBI.  Brooke Opitz, Caitlyn Maa, Addy Kramer, and Taylor Kunzweiler all had singles.  Harden pitched all seven innings allowing one earned run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

The Sparx offense got going early in the second game.  Hartford scored six times in the top of the first and then one more in the top of the third for a 7-0 lead.  Yankton scored the next four runs, three in the bottom of the third and one more in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 7-4.  Hartford then had a three-run inning in the top of the fifth and had one more in the sixth.

Kramer had a home run with two RBIs.  Olivia Brown had a double with two RBIs.  Jenna Lueth had two hits and two RBIs.  McKenna Sickmeller had two hits and an RBI.  Harden, Avery Evans, and Kunzweiler all had two hits each.  Maa and Riley Morrison both had a single and an RBI, while Opitz had a hit.  Harden pitched an inning allowing two hits with a strikeout.  Kunzweiler pitched five innings allowing four runs, two earned, on 10 hits with three strikeeouts.

The Hartford Sparx 18U softball team finished 3-1-1 in five games in Pierre on Saturday, June 19th and Sunday, June 20th.

Hartford opened the weekend with a 13-1 win over the OhNos on Saturday.  The Sparx scored 11 times in the bottom of the first inning and held OhNos to just two total hits in the game.

Brooke Opitz had three hits, including a triple, and two RBIs.  Avery Evans had two hits, one a double, and an RBI.  Grace Harden also had two hits and an RBI.  Olivia Brown finished with two hits, one of them a double.  McKenna Sichmeller had a hit with two RBIs.  Addy Kramer had a double with an RBI.  Jenna Lueth had a hit and RBI, and Riley Morrison had a hit.  Harden pitched four innings allowing one run, which was unearned, on two hits with eight strikeouts.

The Sparx scored five times in the bottom of the third and held on to beat SD The Assault 18U by a score of 5-4.  Brown had a double with two RBIs in the game.  Caitlyn Maa also had a double and an RBI.  Opitz, Harden, Evans, Taylor Kunzweiler, and Lueth all collected a single in the game.  Kunzweiler pitched five innings allowing four earned runs on five hits with seven walks and a strikeout.

The third game of the day on Saturday was against the Jamestown Outlaws.  Both teams scored a run in the first inning, and then the game remained scoreless finishing in a 1-1 tie.  Jamestown had four hits, while Hartford had five hits in the game.  Kramer had two of the five hits and an RBI.  Optiz, Maa, and Sichmeller each had a hit.  Harden pitched four innings allowing an earned run on four hits with three walks and nine strikeouts.

In the first game on Sunday, Hartford scored five times in the first two innings and finished the win over Black Hills Synergy by a scored of 7-2.  Harden had three hits with two RBIs.  Opitiz had two hits, one of them a double.  Sichmeller also had two hits.  Kramer had a hit with three RBIs.  Evans had a single and an RBI.  Brown, Lueth and Morrison also had singles.  Kunzweiler pitched four innings allowing two earned runs on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts.  Harden pitched one inning and finished with two strikeouts.

The Sparx met the Jamestown Outlaws again in their final game on Sunday.  This time the Outlaws scored two runs in the first, second and third innings while holding the Sparx to single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings.  The Outlaws handed Hartford their only loss, 6-3.  Morrison had two hits and an RBI.  Brown had a single and an RBI.  Sichmeller added a double.  Opitz, Maa, Kramer, and Lueth all had singles in the game.  Harden had an RBI as well.  Harden pitched 3 2/3 innings allowing six earned runs on eight hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

The Hartford Sparx 18U softball team got two wins over the Yankton Fury Fire 18U team on Thursday, June 17th.  The Sparx won by scores of 12-2 and 11-6.

In the first game, Yankton held a 2-1 lead after the first inning.  Hartford scored two times in the bottom of the second, but it was a nine-run third inning that solidified the win for Hartford.

McKenna Sichmeller had two triples in the game with four RBIs.  Grace Harden had three hits.  Caitlyn Maa finished with two hits and an RBI.  Addy Kramer had a triple and RBI.  Brooke Opitz, Avery Evans, Taylor Kunzweiler, and Riley Morrison all had an a hit and RBI.  Jenna Lueth also had an RBI.  Harden pitched all four innings allowing two earned runs on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

Despite a closer score in the second game, the Sparx still took control of the game early in the top of the first scoring seven times.  Yankton cut the lead to 7-5 with a five-run second inning, but Hartford make sure there would not be a comeback as they scored four times in the top of the third.

Olivia Brown had three hits and four RBIs in the second game.  Kramer had a hit and two RBIs.  Evans, Kunzweiler, and Morrison all had a hit and RBI.  Maa finished with two hits.  Opitz and Lueth both had an RBI.  Kunzweiler pitched three innings allowing six runs, five earned, on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

The Hartford Sparx 18U softball team won the silver bracket of the Lowell Rang Memorial Tournament in Mitchell.  The tournament was held Friday, June 11th through Sunday, June 13th.

The Sparx won their first pool play game on Friday against Parkston by a score of 4-0.  Hartford scored a run in the fourth and three in the fifth while holding Parkston to just three hits in the game.

Avery Evans had three hits.  Grace Harden, Brooke Opitz, and Kaylee Olson all had hits and an RBI.  McKenna Sichmeller had a double.  Taylor Kunzweiler also had a hit.  Harden pitched all seven innings allowing just three hits with eight strikeouts.

Hartford played their final two pool play games on Saturday, dropping both of them.  In the first game, Metro Select Nationals scored two runs in the first and two in the second for a 4-0 lead.  The Sparx rallied for three in the bottom of the seventh on a three-run double by Caitlyn Maa, but she was left on second base as the tying run as the game ended.

Harden had two hits.  Maa had a double and three RBIs.  Jenna Lueth, Opitz, Addy Kramer, Olivia Brown, and Olson all had hits.  Kunzweiler pitched six innings allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

The Sparx then lost their final pool play game after giving up three runs to Fusion Heat to fall by a score of 6-5.  Harden and Kramer both had two hits and an RBI.  Brown and Kunzweiler both had a single and an RBI.  Evans and Sichmeller both had a double in the game.  Riley Morrison also had a hit.  Harden pitched six innings allowing six earned runs on 11 hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

After going 1-2 in pool play, Hartford was set as the #2 seed in the silver division, single-elimination tournament on Sunday.

In the first game, the Sparx blanked Diamonds Elite 8-0 by only allowing two hits.  Sichmeller finished with a triple and two RBIs.  Harden had two hits, including a double, and an RBI.  Lueth had a hit and two RBIs.  Maa, Evans, and Brown all had a hit.  Olson pitched five innings allowing just two hits and had five strikeouts.

Hartford had another shutout in their second game beating the Rebels 4-0.  The Sparx scored all four runs in the bottom of the third.  Maa had two more hits, including a double, with two RBIs.  Kramer had a hit and an RBI.  Harden, Sichmeller, and Lueth all had singles.  Kunzweiler pitched three innings allowing three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.  Harden also pitched three innings allowing a hit while striking out three batters.

The Sparx then took the championship game 6-1 over Mitchell Adrenaline.  Hartford scored five times in the top of the third, while Mitchell’s lone run came in the bottom of the inning.  Hartford added one more in the top of the sixth.

Brown had two hits, one home run and one double, with three RBIs.  Knuzweiler and Sichmeller both had a hit and an RBI.  Riley Morrison had two hits.  Opitz, Harden, Kramer, and Evans all had singles.   Harden pitched six innings allowing one earned run on six hits with five strikeouts.

The Hartford Sparx 18U softball team has gone 4-2 in their six games in June so far and has an overall record of 14-5-1 on the season.

The Sparx played two games at Aspen Park in Brandon on Saturday, June 5th.  They defeated SD Midwest Speed by a score of 5-1.  They then defeated the Luverne Blaze 12-1.  They picked up two more wins on Sunday, June 6th.  They defeated the Luverne Blaze Fastpitch team 8-4, and then finished the weekend with another win over SD Midwest Speed 8-0.

On Tuesday, June 8th, the Sparx had a double-header against the Yankton Fury Red team in Yankton.

In the first game, Yankton scored 10 times in the second inning and then held stopped a last inning rally to get a 10-7 win over West Central.

Grace Harden and Jenna Lueth both had three hits and an RBI in the game.  McKenna Sichmeller had two hits, including a double.  Brooke Opitz had a triple and two RBIs.  Caitlyn Maa had a triple and an RBI.  Olivia Brown also had a hit and an RBI.  Taylor Kunzweiler pitched four innings allowing 10 runs, but only two earned, on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

In the second game, the two teams were tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the third inning.  Yankton scored three times, and then added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 5-1 victory.

Lueth had a hit and an RBI.  Addy Kramer, Riley Morrison, and Brown all had hits.  Harden pitched five innings allowing five runs, four earned, on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts.