West Central scored three runs in the final two innings to get a come-from-behind walk-off win over Tri-Valley on Monday, May 16th in Humboldt.

Neither team scored through the first three innings of play.  Tri-Valley scored both of their runs in the top of the fourth inning.  With two outs in the inning, Carter Sorenson hit a two-run double scoring Nathan Madison and Connor Christensen.

West Central cut the lead in half in the bottom of the sixth inning when Zach Madsen hit an RBI double scoring Grafton Stroup.  The score remained 2-1 heading into the seventh inning.  After Tri-Valley failed to add any more runs in their half of the seventh, West Central put together a one-out rally.  Ben Sebert reached on an error.  Gavin Koch followed with a single.  Camden McDonald hit a double that scored Sebert to tie the game.  Duece Sherrard drove home Koch with a single to center field to win the game.

Sorenson had two hits, one a double, with two RBIs for Tri-Valley.  Riley Carlson had two singles.  Christensen and Madison also each had a single in the game.  Kaden Egger pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up three runs, two earned, on seven hits while striking out six.

For the West Central Trojans, McDonald had two hits, one a double, and an RBI.  Sherrard also had two hits and an RBI.  Madsen had a double and an RBI.  Jack Linneman and Koch each had a single as well.

West Central won their fourth straight game after a 7-3 win over Sioux Falls Christian on Tuesday, May 10th.

West Central took an early four run lead after the first two innings.  Caden Alfson drove home two runs in the first inning with a single.  Logan Maras had a solo home run, and Grafton Stroup added an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning.

Sioux Falls Christian got a run in the top of the third inning and then added two more in the top of the fourth inning to pull within a run, 4-3.  The score remained 4-3 until the bottom of the sixth.  Duece Sherrard had a two-run triple, and Stroup followed with an RBI triple to put West Central ahead 7-3.

Sherrard had three hits, including the triple, and two RBIs.  Stroup had two hits, one a triple, and two RBIs.  Alfson also had two hits and two RBIs.  Maras finished with a home run and an RBI, and Gavin Koch had a single.  Andrew Zimmer pitched all seven innings allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits and two walks while striking out six.

The West Central High School baseball team won their third game in a row with an 11-2 victory over Baltic on Wednesday, May 4th in Baltic.

West Central scored the first nine runs of the game.  The first two game in the top of the first inning.  Caden Alfson and Andrew Zimmer both had RBI singles.  Three more runs scored in the top of the third.  Two of those came on a two-run home run by Zach Madsen.  Gavin Koch walked with the bases loaded to give West Central a 7-0 lead.

Four more runs were scored in the top of the fifth for the Trojans.  Duece Sherrard had an RBI single.  Grafton Stroup followed with an RBI single.  Alfson added an RBI single with two outs in the inning, and Jack Linneman reached on an error which scored the fourth run of the inning.

Baltic was able to get on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning.  They added another run in the bottom of the sixth.  West Central scored two more times in the game as well, getting single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

Stroup finished with three hits, one a double, and an RBI.  Alfson collected two hits and two RBIs.  Sherrard had two hits and an RBI.  Madsen finished with a home run and two RBIs.  Zimmer had a hit and an RBI.  Linneman had two hits, and Logan Maras and Ben Sebert both had a hit.  Koch added an RBI.

Braden Herr pitched six innings allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts.  Stroup pitched an inning allowing a hit and a walk.

The West Central High School club baseball team scored seven runs in the first three innings as they held for an 11-7 win over Lennox on Friday, April 29th.

The first two runs for West Central came with two outs in the top of the first inning.  Duece Sherrard scored on a wild pitch, and Caden Alfson hit an RBI single.  The Trojans added four more runs in the top of the second.  Gavin Koch had an RBI triple, Sherrard followed with an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch, and Alfson added his second RBI single.  Zach Madsen had an RBI single in the top of the third, and West Central lead 7-0 heading into the bottom of the third.

Lennox scored three times in their half of third inning making the score 7-3.  Jack Linneman had an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning for West Central, and the score remained 8-3 until the bottom of the sixth inning.  Lennox scored two more times, and the Trojans led 8-5 going into the final inning.  West Central scored three more times in the top of the seventh.  Lennox scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but the rally ended there.

Alfson had three hits, one a double, and two RBIs.  Sherrard also had three hits and an RBI.  Madsen had two hits and two RBIs.  Grafton Stroup and Ben Sebert both had two singles.  Koch had a triple and RBI.  Linneman had a hit and an RBI.  Andrew Zimmer and Logan Maras both had singles as well.  Madsen pitched five innings to earn the win giving up three runs, all unearned, on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts.  Stroup pitched two innings allowing four runs, one earned, on one hit and four walks with three strikeouts.

The West Central High School club baseball team got back into the win column and ended a short two-game losing streak with an 8-5 win over McCook Central on Wednesday, April 27th.  West Central scored six of their right runs in the first two innings and held the lead for the win to improve to 3-2 on the year.

Grafton Stroup drove home the first run for West Central in the top of the first inning on an RBI sacrifice fly to center field.  McCook Central tied the game, 1-1, after scoring a run in the bottom of the first.  West Central’s offense scored five times in the top of the second.  Logan Maras started the inning with a single and scored two batters later on an RBI groundout by Ben Sebert.  Braden Herr scored on an error to push the lead to 3-1.  Gavin Koch scored on a passed ball, and then Andrew Zimmer had an RBI single.  Dalton Mulder followed with an RBI single, and West Central led 6-1.  McCook Central only got one run back in their half of the inning, and West Central led 6-2 after two innings of play.

Zach Madsen pushed the lead back to five runs after an RBI line drive single scoring Duece Sherrard.  McCook Central, however, cut the lead down to two runs after a three-run bottom of the fifth inning.  The score remained 7-5 until the top of the seventh inning.  Madsen had an RBI groundout scoring Koch for a big insurance run for West Central.

Sherrard had three hits in the game.  Zimmer, Mulder, and Koch all had two singles and an RBI each.  Madsen had a hit and two RBIs.  Stroup and Sebert each had a single and RBI.  Maras finished with a hit as well.  Zimmer pitched 4 2/3 innings allowing five runs, three earned, on five hits and five walks with two strikeouts.  Stroup pitched the final 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit with two walks and three strikeouts.

The West Central High School club baseball team suffered their first loss of the season.  West Central fell to Tea 7-3 on Friday, April 22nd which was a make-up game from April 12th.

Tea scored six runs spread out over the first five innings.  They scored two in the first, two in the third, one in the fourth, and one in the fifth for a 6-0 lead.

Braden Herr hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning scoring Grafton Stroup.  Logan Maras scored on an error on the same play to cut the lead to 6-2.

Tea got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning.  The final run for West Central came in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Ben Sebert, scoring Duece Sherrard.

Sebert and Herr both had singles and an RBI.  Sherrard had a triple.  Zach Madsen, Andrew Zimmer, Maras, and Camden McDonald all had singles as well.  Zimmer pitched four innings allowing five runs, but only one earned, on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts.  Jack Linneman gave up an earned run on three hits.  Owen Heath pitched two innings allowing an earned run on a hit with two walks and two strikeouts.

In what’s been a difficult start to the high school club baseball season in terms of weather, West Central won for the second time in as many games on Wednesday, April 20th.  West Central got a 4-1 road win over Hanson-Bridgewater-Emery.

The game was locked in a scoreless battle for four innings.  West Central finally broke through in the top of the fifth inning.  Duece Sherrard hit an RBI single scoring Gage Nelson for a 1-0 lead.

West Central then scored three more times in the top of the sixth.  Grafton Stroup scored on an error, and Dalton Mulder hit a two-out, two-run home run to give the Trojans a 4-0 lead.  Hanson-Bridgewater-Emery got their lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Mulder finished the game with the home run and two RBIs.  Sherrard had two hits, including a double, and an RBI.  Stroup also had two hits, one of them a double.  Gavin Koch finished with two singles, and Zach Madsen had a hit.

Madsen took the win on the mound pitching five innings without giving up a hit while walking three and striking out six batters.  Braden Herr pitched two innings allowing one run, which was unearned, on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

West Central will host Dell Rapids on Sunday, April 24th.

West Central’s bid for a high school state baseball title ended just a little short at Sioux Falls Stadium on Tuesday, June 1st.  West Central fell to Dell Rapids, a Region 3B foe, in the championship game 9-2 taking the 2021 South Dakota High School Baseball Association runner-up spot.

West Central’s run through the state tournament started on Monday, May 31st.  They opened the tournament against Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake/Corsica/Stickney and advanced after an exciting 6-5 win.

West Central scored the first three runs of the game.  Zach Madsen hit an RBI single in the top of the second inning. West Central added two more runs in the top of the fifth on RBI singles by Dylan Sherrard and Loren Jacobson.  PG/DC/WL/C/S tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but West Central added three in the top of the seventh.  Grafton Stroup had a two-run double, and Jacobson scored on a wild pitch to give West Central a 6-3 lead.  They needed all three runs as PG/DC/WL/C/S scored two times before Stroup was able to get the final out on the mound.

Ryan Healy, Jacobson, Madsen, Seth Gabbert, and Sherrard all had singles in the game.  Jacobson, Madsen, and Sherrard all had an RBI.  Stroup had a double and two RBIs, and Noah Hohn had a triple.  Gabbert pitched five innings allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.  Stroup pitched the final two innings allowing two earned runs on three hits with one strikeout.

West Central defeated Vermillion in the semifinals on Tuesday.  West Central scored six runs over the last three innings to secure the 9-4 victory to send them to the championship game.

They had three runs in the top of the first inning and led 3-0 until Vermillion scored a run in the bottom of the fourth.  West Central added two runs in the top of the fifth, but Vermillion responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning to make the score 5-3 after five innings.  West Central again added two runs in the top of the sixth inning for a 7-3 lead.  Vermillion picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth, but two more runs by West Central in the top of the seventh put the game out of reach.

Healy and Madsen both had two hits and an RBI in the game.  Jacobson also had two hits, including a double.  Stroup had a triple and two RBIs.  Hown had a double and an RBI.  Ben Sebert and Gabbert both had a hit.  Sherrard had a hit and three RBIs.  Braden Herr pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.  Stroup pitched 1 1/3 innings allowing one run, which was unearned, on two hits with one walk and one strikeout.  Hohn pitched the final inning allowing no runs on two hits.

West Central then faced Dell Rapids in the title game on Tuesday evening.  West Central scored two times on three hits in the top of the first inning to put the pressure on Dell Rapids early.  Hohn had an RBI single, and Adam Parsons had an RBI ground out in the inning.  West Central, however, was held to just one hit the remainder of the game as Dell Rapids scored a run in the bottom of the second, five more in the third, two in the fifth, and one in the sixth for the win.

Jacobson had two of the four hits for West Central, including a double.  Hohn had a hit and RBI, and Healy had the other hit in the game.  Hohn pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing eight runs, only three earned, on 10 hits with two walks and four strikeouts.  Jacobson pitched the final 1 2/3 innings allowing one earned run on four walks and a strikeout.

West Central finished the season with a 12-5 record and as the State B runner-up.

The West Central high school baseball team is headed to the State B tournament after getting two wins in the Region 3B tournament held in Tea on Tuesday, May 25th.

West Central was the #3 seed in the tournament and played their opening round game against #6 Garretson.  West Central scored two in the bottom of the second inning, which was enough as they held Garretson to just one run on their way to a 5-1 victory.

Grafton Stroup had three hits and two RBIs in the game.  Ryan Healy had two hits, one of them a double, and an RBI.  Zach Madsen and Ben Sebert both had a hit and an RBI.  Seth Gabbert added a double, and Dylan Sherrard and Loren Jacobson both had a hit.

Gabbert pitched 6 1/3 innings allowing one earned run on three hits with five walks and eight strikeouts.  Stroup pitched 2/3 of an inning without allowing a hit.

West Central then met #2 Tea in the state qualifying game.  After a scoreless first inning, West Central’s offense exploded scoring 20 runs on 16 hits while holding Tea to just one hit in a 20-0 win.  West Central scored seven in the second, three in the third, seven more in the fourth inning, and three in the fifth inning.

Healy finished the game with three hits and three RBIs.  Jacobson had three hits, including a triple, and two RBIs.  Stroup had three hits, one a double and one a triple, as well as two RBIs.  Noah Hohn had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs.  Ben Serbert had a hit with two RBIs.  Gabbert finished with a hit and RBI.  Adam Parsons, Jack Linnemann, and Zach Madsen all had a hit as well.

Hohn pitched all five innings allowing just one hit with three walks and five strikeouts.

The 2021 South Dakota High School Baseball Association Class B State Tournament will be held at Sioux Falls Stadium on Monday, May 31st and Tuesday, June 1st.

West Central scored two in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn a 7-3 win over Sioux Falls Christian on Monday, May 17th.

West Central scored the first three runs of the game.  Loren Jacobson had an RBI ground out in the top of the first inning to score Ryan Healy for a 1-0 lead.  The first four batters of the third inning for West Central all hit singles.  Grafton Stroup had an RBI on his hit as did Noah Hohn to push the West Central lead to 3-0.

Sioux Falls Christian two runs in the bottom of the third inning on back-to-back singles to cut the lead to 3-2.  Sioux Falls Christian then tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning after a West Central error.

The Trojans regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning.  Stroup lead off the inning with a home run to right field.  Braden Herr hit an RBI sacrifice fly later in the inning to make the score 5-3.  Two more runs scored in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Jacobson and an RBI double by Stroup.

Stroup had three hits, including a home run and double, with three RBIs.  Jacobson had two hits and two RBIs.  Hohn finished with two hits, including a double, with an RBI.  Herr also had an RBI.  Healy picked up two hits, and Ben Sebert, Adam Parsons, and Seth Gabbert all had a hit.

Herr pitched four innings giving up three runs, two earned, on two hits with five walks and six strikeouts.  Stroup pitched the final three innings giving up just one hit and had five strikeouts.