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Rapid City Post 22 wins twice Sunday, storms back for Class A Legion baseball state title

the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·2 min read

Aug. 1—RAPID CITY — Needing two wins on Sunday at the South Dakota Class A American Legion baseball tournament, Rapid City Post 22 did exactly that, taking down Harrisburg 8-6 and then defeating Sioux Falls East in the championship game by a 5-1 score on the Hardhats' home field.

Post 22 (41-24) got a strong pitching performance from Harrison Good in the championship game on Sunday, throwing a complete-game four-hitter and allowing one run on 106 pitches. Rapid City scored three times in the first inning and rode that lead all day. Alex Dietrich drove in three runs for the Hardhats, who outhit SF East, 7-4.

It was the Hardhats' fourth straight win since an 8-2 loss to Mitchell on Thursday sent Rapid City to the elimination bracket. It is Rapid City Post 22's 44th state title and the second in the last three seasons.

Sioux Falls East (35-15) had two hits from Jack Smith and an RBI from Cael Swanson. Myles Rees was the losing pitcher, allowing seven hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings. The game was the second meeting in as many days between the two teams, with Post 22 winning 6-5 in nine innings on Saturday night.

Good was the tournament MVP, hitting .462 and driving in five runs in six games. Pierre's Lincoln Kienholz was the winner of the Big Stick Award for having the best batting average, hitting .600 on a 6-for-10 weekend, while Sioux Falls East was the tournament's Sportsmanship Award winner.

By virtue of Rapid City Post 22 hosting next week's American Legion Central Plains Regional, both Sioux Falls East and Post 22 will play in the event, which begins Wednesday, Aug. 3. They will be joined by Iowa champion Moville, Minnesota champion St. Michael, Nebraska champion Millard South, North Dakota state champion West Fargo, along with Minnesota runner-up Mankato National and Nebraska runner-up Creighton Prep. The winner of that event on Aug. 7 advances to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, North Carolina starting Aug. 11.