The West Central 17U Royal team earned a spot in the 2025 South Dakota VFW State Tournament by winning two games against the Mission Mayhem on Wednesday, July 16th in a best-of-three state qualifying series.
West Central Royal 14, Mission 2
West Central scored early and often in the first game. They scored two times in the bottom of the first, another in the second, and three in the third for an early 6-0 lead. Mission got two runs in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to 6-2, but West Central took the momentum right back in the bottom of the inning. West Central scored eight times in their half of the inning to extend the lead to 14-2. After Mission was held scoreless in the top of the fifth, the game ended on the 10-run rule.
Hayes Cain and Karson Vessells both had two hits each, each with a double, and also an RBI. Ashton Gebhard added a double with two RBIs. Nick Lorang had a single and two RBIs. Hayden Whiting had a double and an RBI. CJ DenBoer, Keaton Vessells, and Carter Evans all had one hit and one RBI each. Zach Lorang also had a single. Jericho Klein pitched three innings without allowing a hit and just one walk with seven strikeouts. Karson Vessells pitched two innings and allowed two unearned runs on a hit and a walk with three strikeouts.
West Central Royal 15, Mission 0
The offense continued to roll in the second game. Two big innings was all that West Central needed to take the win. They scored nine times in the bottom of the first inning and then scored six more in the bottom of the third to end the game on the 15-run rule.
Gebhard and Cain combined for the three-inning no-hit effort on the mound. Gebhard pitched two of the innings and struck out four batters. Cain pitched one inning allowing two walks with one strikeout. Evans had two doubles in the game with three RBIs. DenBoer had a home run and two RBIs. Gebhard had a single and two RBIs. N. Lorang added a double with an RBI. Z. Lorang had a hit. Keaton Vessells and Klein each had an RBI.
State Tournament Information
West Central Royal will play in the 2025 South Dakota VFW State Tournament held in Northville on Friday, July 25th through Sunday, July 27th.
