At 15-0, Redfield Area heads to Class B high school baseball tournament

Redfield Area heads into the Class B high school baseball tournament with a perfect record it hopes to keep intact.

The Muskrats are 15-0 and advanced to the state tourney with Region 2 victories over Castlewood/Deuel and Howard by scores of 11-1 and 10-0, respectively.

The single-elimination state tournament is Monday and Tuesday in Sioux Falls.

In the 11-1 win over Castlewood/Deuel, the Muskrats got five innings from pitcher Keaton Rohlfs, who allowed just two hits and a run. The Muskrats' bats were active early as they grabbed a 9-0 lead after three innings.

Against Howard, Peyton Osborn took the mound, allowing just two hits over six innings. After being held scoreless for two innings, Redfield plated four runs in the third before cruising to victory.

'Couldn't be more pleased'

"I guess I couldn't be more pleased with how we played and having a little pressure on you being the No. 1 seed hosting at home and in a tight ballgame early, and we just exploded," said Redfield Area coach Tommy Gregg.

The Muskrats have a core of players that have been playing together for a long time, he said.

"Overall, we got a good group of seniors that are good baseball players, good leaders. But then we've got a few juniors and a couple of sophomores. That collective group has played together since midgets and Teener ball. They've had some success, and they've kind of went through the process," Gregg said. "You're seeing them do what they should be doing for a group that's had the success that they've had."

And there certainly has been past success.

Last summer, Redfield won the Class B junior Legion state tournament and was second at the varsity Legion tournament. The squads were the same except for a couple of players, Gregg said.

And the Muskrats have been regular qualifiers in recent years for the spring high school tournament.

Along with Redfield students, the team also has kids from Northwestern and Tulare.

New season, new goals

Heading into this season season, the goals changed from previous years, Gregg said.

"We didn't come in and say, 'We just want to get to the state tournament' It was, 'Think about what we've done when we've been there (and) take that final step.' And it was relayed from each other, from the coaching staff, it was talked about," he said. "That's kind of weird to do that, but that's the last step this group needs to take. So we threw it out there. We've been chasing it ever since."

Osborn and Fehi Faonelua have produced on the mound for the Muskrats.

Osborn is one of a set of triplets who plays for Redfield. He has an earned-run average of 2.24 over four starts and 25 innings pitched. He is 4-0 and is averaging a strikeout per inning.

Faonelua has started four games, yielding just three earned runs in 19.2 innings pitched. He has struck out 27 batters.

The Muskrats pride themselves on pitching depth, and that's been important as weather has caused scheduling issues resulting in more mid-week games.

Rohlfs and Owen Osborn have been strong third and fourth pitching options, Gregg said.

Rohlfs has pitched in four games and allowed just one run in 16 innings. Owen Osborn has pitched in three games, making one start, and has given up just one earned run in 14 innings.

"I feel like (our) pitching staff can probably go five deep, maybe six. Not all of them are guys that are gonna light up a radar gun. They're gonna do what our three and four guys do, so I think that's what makes this team a little special is our pitching depth," Gregg said. "You get (deep in the state tournament and) whoever's got the most depth and the best guy that can go on day three, you're probably going to win it."

He said there are other pitchers who haven't played much this spring but will log innings when Legion ball starts.

A dominating spring season

As their undefeated record indicates, the Muskrats have been dominant this spring. They have scored 131 runs and given up only 21.

Before the region tournament, the team had a .335 bating average, led by Rohlfs, who was hitting .553 in 48 at-bats.

Faonelua has 18 runs batted in, followed by 14 from Easton Miller and nine from Camden Osborn.

"I feel like we're above average in all three facets. I feel like we're athletic and when we get on base, we can run with most of our top nine. I know that bothers some teams, so we'll do a lot of studying on other team's pitchers, their moves, their looks, their rhythms to try and take extra bases," Gregg said. "We have guys that are fast enough on a slow ground ball and can beat out (throws), and then we got guys that can put it in the gaps and things, so we feel like our hitting is there."

Redfield baserunners stole 78 bases during the regular season. Camden Osborn led the way with 21.

In the two region games, the Muskrats stole 11 bases, 10 against Castlewood/Deuel. Owen Osborn had four steals.

At the state tournament, the Muskrats open with Winner/Colome at 7:05 p.m. Monday at Sioux Falls Stadium.

Monday's other first-round games include Dell Rapids vs. Parkston/Tripp/Ethan at 12:05 p.m., Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian/White Lake vs. Madison at 2:05 p.m. and Dakota Valley vs. West Central at 5:05 p.m.

The semifinal games will be Tuesday afternoon, with the championship game set for 5:05 p.m.

Last season, Redfield Area qualified for the B high school tournament before losing to Dakota Valley.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Redfield Area Muskrats undefeated in regular season, eye state tourney