In the opening game of the 2022 South Dakota Class B Legion State Tournament, Winner rallied in the top of the sixth inning to earn an 8-7 win over Hartford/Humboldt in Gregory.
Winner scored a run in the top of the first for an early 1-0 lead. Braden Herr had an RBI single in the bottom of the second to tie the game 1-1. Winner again scored a run in the top of the third, but Hartford/Humboldt responded in the bottom of the inning. Herr brought home two more runs on an single for a 3-2 lead.
Another run was scored in the top of the fourth. Loren Jacobson had had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth. Herr got his fourth and fifth RBIs with another single to give Hartford/Humboldt a 6-3 lead in the fourth inning.
Winner started a five-run comeback in the top of the fifth. They scored two times in the fifth and then had a big, three-run inning in the top of the sixth to take an 8-6 lead. Hartford/Humboldt got one run back in the bottom of the sixth. Bennett Sebert scored on a wild pitch.
Herr finished with three hits and five RBIs. Jacobson also had three hits and an RBI. Sebert finished with two hits, one a double. Gage Nelson also had two hits. Gavin Koch added a double. Deuce Sherrard and Connor Siemonsma both had a single. Seth Gabbert pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed five runs, three earned, on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Koch pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits and a walk with a strikeout.
Hartford/Humboldt will play Dell Rapids on Saturday, July 30th at 10:00 a.m.