Trailing in the seventh inning in the championship game with two outs, the West Central Trojans found a way to win the Dak-12 Tournament held in Sioux Falls on Monday, April 22nd. The Trojans won three games in the single-elimination tournament.
West Central 4, Dakota Valley 0
The Trojans scored a single run in the first and second innings to take an early 2-0 lead over the Panthers. West Central added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 4-0.
Emillee Stofferahn pitched five innings and allowed just one hit and one walk with 11 strikeouts. Caitlyn Hoff pitched two innings and allowed a walk with four strikeouts. Stofferahn had two hits, one a triple, and an RBI. Ayla Kramer finished with two hits, including a double, and an RBI. Hanna Raethz also had a triple and an RBI. Izzi Parsons finished with three hits. Addy Kunzweiler had a hit, and Hoff had an RBI.
West Central 1, Madison 0
A single run in the top of the second inning was the only run scored in the Trojan’s win over Madison. Elisabeth Miller a two-out single to bring home Stofferahn as the game-winning hit.
Parsons, Raethz, and Jocelyn Nilson all had a single. Hoff pitched all seven innings and allowed two hits and two walks while recording 16 strikeouts.
West Central 15, Dell Rapids 11
The Quarriers and Trojans traded leads throughout the championship game. Dell Rapids scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the first lead. West Central scored three in the top of the third for a 3-2 lead. The Quarriers scored single runs in the third and fourth inning for a 4-3 lead. The Trojans took the lead back with a two-run top of the fifth. Dell Rapids responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning. After five innings of play, Dell Rapids led 7-5.
West Central put up four runs in the top of the sixth to go ahead 9-7. Dell Rapids responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to regain the lead 11-9. The Quarriers seemed to have grabbed momentum after taking the lead back in the bottom of the sixth. They retired the first two batters of the seventh inning. Raethz and Hoff both got on base with two-out singles. Stofferahn delivered the big blow with a three-run home run to go back in front 12-11. The Trojans added three more runs to secure the win.
Stofferahn had four hits, including a home run and a double, with four RBIs. Raethz also had four hits, two doubles and a home run, with three RBIs. Kadence Lupkes had two hits, one a home run, and three RBIs. Miller added two doubles and two RBIs. Nilson had two hits, one a triple, and an RBI. Hoff added two hits and an RBI. Kramer ended with a single and an RBI. Parsons had two hits.
Stofferahn pitched five innings and allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Hoff pitched two innings and allowed four runs, all unearned, on two hits and two walks with thee strikeouts.
