The Tri-Valley 14U Maroon team won the 2026 South Dakota VFW 7th-9th Alpha State Tournament held in Sioux Falls Friday, July 24th through Sunday, July 26th. They finished with a 3-2 record overall dropping both pool-play games but winning all their bracket games.
Volga White 10, Tri-Valley 8
In the first pool-play game on Friday, Volga rallied late to earn the win. Each team scored a run in the opening inning. Volga had four runs in the top of the third. Tri-Valley responded with six in the bottom of the inning for a 7-5 lead. Volga, however, had three runs in the top of the fourth to go back in front 8-7. Tri-Valley tied the game, 8-8, with a single run in the bottom of the fourth. Volga added two more runs in the top of the fifth and held for the win.
P. Amundson and K. Wipf had two hits and an RBI each. B. McMillen had a double with two RBIs. N. Campbell added a triple and an RBI. R. Thompson also had a hit with an RBI. T. Sorenson had a single, and B. Williams added an RBI.
Sioux Falls Chragers 5, Tri-Valley 4
Tri-Valley scored a single run in each of the first two innings for an early 2-0 lead. Sioux Falls tied the game, 2-2, with two runs in the bottom of the third. They added single runs in both the third and fourth innings to go in front 4-2. Tri-Valley tied the game with two runs in the top of the fifth, but Sioux Falls got a one-out single to earn the walk-off win.
Wipf had a single and an RBI. A. Kraft added a double. C. Zenk, McMillen, and Amundson all had one hit each. J. Samuelson and Williams each had an RBI.
Tri_Valley 20, Belle Fourche 0
After finishing 0-2 in pool play, Tri-Valley faced Belle Fourche in their first bracket game on Saturday. Tri-Valley had 20 hits on their way to the 20-0 win. They scored seven runs in the top of the first, 12 more in the top of the second, and another in the top of the third before the game ended on the 15-run rule after three innings.
Sorenson had three hits, one a double, and three RBIs. Williams had three singles and two RBIs. Samuelson had two singles with three RBIs. Amundson and Thompson each had two hits and two RBIs. L. Gacke and Kraft each had two hits with an RBI. Zenk and McMillen both had a double with an RBI. Campbell and Wipf both had a single and an RBI.
Tri-Valley 11, Volga White 1
In the second game of bracket play on Saturday, Tri-Valley scored six times in the top of the second to go in front 6-0. Each team scored a run in the fourth. Tri-Valley added two more runs in the fifth and two again in the sixth on their way to an 11-1 win to advance to the championship game.
Amundson had three hits and three RBIs. Campbell also had three hits, one a double, and an RBI. Zenk had two hits with an RBI. Sorenson also had two hits. McMillen added a single with two RBIs. Williams ended with a single and an RBI, while Thompson had a double. Kraft added an RBI. McMillen pitched six innings and allowed one earned run on four hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts.
Tri-Valley 12, Sioux Falls Chargers 1
In the championship game on Sunday, Tri-Valley took advantage of seven Sioux Falls errors while Thompson threw five innings without allowing a hit. He game up an unearned run on two walks with 10 strikeouts.
Tri-Valley scored two times in the top of the first inning. Sioux Falls cut the lead in half, 2-1, with a run in the bottom of the second. Tri-Valley then scored five runs in the top of the third, had another in the top of the fourth, and four more in the top of the fifth. The game ended on the 10-run rule after five innings.
Zenk had two hits with an RBI. Sorenson had a double with two RBIs. Campbell had a single with two RBIs. McMillen, Kraft, and Williams all had a hit with an RBI. Samuelson also had a single.
