West Central scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Mobridge 6-5 in the championship game of the 2023 South Dakota VFW 14U State A Tournament in Elk Point on Sunday, July 23rd. Prior to the championship game, West Central earned wins on Friday, July 21st and Saturday, July 22nd.
West Central 7, Elk Point-Jefferson 2
In the opening round of the state tournament, West Central defeated the host team by scoring seven unanswered runs. Elk Point-Jefferson scored a run in the top of the first, but the lead didn’t last long. West Central scored two times in the bottom of the inning, a run in the second, two in the third, and two in the fifth for a 7-1 lead. Elk Point-Jefferson added one more run in the top of the seventh.
Langdon Klinkhammer had three hits. Karson Vessells had two hits and two RBIs. Karson Olson also had two hits with an RBI. Hayes Cain added two hits. Alex Seimonsma and JT Steckley each had a single and an RBI. Dylan Bettcher finished with a single, and Ashton Gebhard had an RBI. Bettcher pitched all seven innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts.
West Central 13, Belle Fourche 4
It took until the bottom of the third inning before West Central got some space on the scoreboard, but once they got rolling, the offense put up a lot of runs. Belle Fourche scored a run in the top of the first, but West Central answered with three in the bottom of the inning. Belle Fourche tied the game with two runs in the third. West Central then scored four times in the bottom of the third and three in the fourth for a 10-3 lead. After Belle Fourche got a run in the fifth, West Central scored three more in the bottom of the sixth.
Klinkhammer had four hits and two RBIs. Gebhard had two singles and four RBIs. Cain and Steckley each had two hits and two RBIs. Vessells finished with two hits, one a double, and an RBI. Bettcher added two singles. Taten VanOverbeke had a hit and an RBI. Olson and Siemonsma each had a hit. Gebhard pitched three innings and allowed three runs, one earned, on a hit and five walks with four strikeouts. Siemonsma pitched four innings and allowed an earned run on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
West Central 6, Mobridge 5
Mobridge struck first in the championship game. They scored four runs in the top of the second inning. West Central cut the lead in half, 4-2, with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Each team scored a run in the fifth inning, and the score remained 5-3 going into the seventh inning.
After holding Mobridge scoreless in the top of the seventh, West Central’s offense put together a rally. Bettcher had a one-out double. Cain followed with a single, and Klinkhammer was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A balk brought home the first run to make the score 5-4. Vessells added an RBI sacrifice bunt to tie the game 5-5 and put runners on second and third with two outs. Another balk allowed Bettcher to score the game-winning run take win the championship.
Bettcher finished with two hits, one a double. Olson had a hit and an RBI. Siemonsma, Cain, and Klinkhammer all had one hit each. Vessells finished with two RBIs. Klinkhammer pitched five innings and allowed one earned run on four walks and a strikeout. Steckley pitched two innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk.
