Eight Mitchell teams set for action at state youth baseball tournaments in Brandon
Jul. 14—BRANDON — Eight Mitchell youth baseball teams will be in action this weekend at the South Dakota Class A state tournaments taking place at Aspen Park in Brandon.
In the 12-and-under division, the Mitchell Mad Dogs will be the lone local team in the 17-team field. The Mad Dogs will be in action against the Harrisburg Tigers at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by Brookings at 8 a.m. Saturday and Brandon Valley Black at 4 p.m. Saturday for the pool play portion of competition.
The 11U division includes the Mitchell Mad Dogs and Mitchell Titans. Pool play for the Mad Dogs includes Brandon Valley Red at 4 p.m. Friday, Aberdeen Sharks at 10 a.m. Saturday and the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Titans face the Yankton Twins at 4 p.m. Friday, Brandon Valley Red at 2 p.m. Saturday and the Aberdeen Sharks at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Two Mad Dogs teams will play in the 10U division, with the Claussen and Herman teams in action. Claussen will play Harrisburg Tigers at 2 p.m. Friday, Brandon Valley Black at 10 a.m. Saturday and the Watertown Warbirds at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Herman team plays the Watertown Renegades at 6 p.m. Friday, the Pierre Rattlers at 10 a.m. Saturday and Brandon Valley Red at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Three Mitchell teams will play in the 9U division, with the Avengers, Mad Dogs and Sliders all on the diamonds this weekend. The Avengers have a 2 p.m. Friday game with Harrisburg Gold, an 8 a.m. Saturday's contest with the Aberdeen Pheasants and a 2 p.m. Saturday game with Brandon Valley White in pool play, while the Mad Dogs will play Yankton at 6 p.m. Friday, Huron Red Sox at noon Saturday and Brookings at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Sliders will play Brandon Valley Black at 8 p.m. Friday, Aberdeen Sharks at 10 a.m. Saturday and the Sioux Empire Stealth at 2 p.m. Saturday.
In all divisions, the semifinals and championship games will be played on Sunday, with the semifinals at 11:30 a.m. and the championship contests at 1:30 p.m.
The tournaments are open to youth teams in Aberdeen, Brandon Valley, Brookings, Harrisburg, Huron, Mitchell, Rapid City, Renner, Sioux Falls, Watertown and Yankton. Since the creation of the Class A division and tournaments, the Mitchell Mustangs in the 2016 12-and-under division have been the lone Mitchell state champion in ages 9-12.
SALEM — Eighteen teams will converge on McCook County this weekend for the South Dakota Veterans of Foreign Wars Class B 10-and-under state baseball tournament, which begins Friday.
Pool play begins at 9:30 a.m. on two fields in Salem and one in Montrose, with each team playing twice on the opening day. An opening ceremony is planned for 9 a.m. Saturday on the Salem baseball field before play resumes. Each pool winner, plus the next two teams with the best records will advance to the championship round.
The eight-team championship bracket will get underway at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Salem, with the games taking place on two fields. The semifinals will be played at 1 p.m. Sunday, followed by the championship at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Area teams competing in pool play include Bon Homme, Canova, Corsica/Stickney, Emery, Montrose, Parkston, Platte/Geddes and Salem. Parkston won the division last year with a 2-1 championship victory over Platte/Geddes when the tournament was played in Canova.
All teams are guaranteed to play three games.
