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Redfield Legion, three Watertown teams taste success in state baseball tourneys

roger merriam, watertown public opinion
·6 min read
Renner base runner Joey Godshall slides safety into second base with a stolen base as Watertown Red Sox second baseman Leo Stroup scoops the throw Friday night during their game in the state Class A Baseball 16-and-under state tournament in Watertown. Backing up the play is Watertown's Nathan Briggs. The Red Sox finished 1-2 in the tourney.
Renner base runner Joey Godshall slides safety into second base with a stolen base as Watertown Red Sox second baseman Leo Stroup scoops the throw Friday night during their game in the state Class A Baseball 16-and-under state tournament in Watertown. Backing up the play is Watertown's Nathan Briggs. The Red Sox finished 1-2 in the tourney.

Redfield Post 92 remained undefeated in the state Class B American Legion baseball tournament and three Watertown Baseball Association teams earned semifinal berths in their respective state tournaments on Saturday.

The state Class A American Legion tournament was slated to finish on Sunday with the State B tournament at Gregory scheduled to run through Tuesday.

Sunday finishes were also scheduled for the state Class A Junior Legion tournament at Sioux Falls and Class A Baseball tournaments at Watertown (16-and-under), 14-and-under (Pierre), 13-and-under (Brookings) and 13/14-and-under (Harrisburg).

The District 1B amateur tourney concluded Thursday at Lake Norden. Pairings for the state Class B tourney are scheduled to be released on Sunday. The tourney runs Aug. 3-14 at Cadwell Park in Mitchell.

Here's a quick look at how things are shaping up in each tourney:

State B Legion

The tourney opened Friday with Winner-Colome topping Humboldt-Hartford 8-7, Vermillion downing Dell Rapids 9-7, Redfield Post 92 rolling past Milbank Post 9 16-1 and host Gregory slipping past Platte-Geddes 4-2.

On Saturday, Winner-Colome beat Vermillion 8-3 and Redfield outlasted Gregory 13-12 in winner's bracket games. In elimination games, Platte-Geddes turned back Milbank and Dell Rapids handled Humboldt-Hartford 20-4.

The tourney runs through Tuesday with the championship set for 1 p.m. A second championship, if necessary, will follow.

Redfield (22-8) combined 12 hits with 11 walks and took advantage of a nine-run third inning to open with the five-inning win over Milbank. Erik Salmen had two hits and drove in five runs. Owen Osborn, Elijah Morrissette and Nolan Gall each also had two hits. Kamden Rohlfs got the win.

Kaden Krause, Kellen Hoeke, Isaac Schulte and Mike Karges each singled for Milbank.

Redfield outscored Gregory on Saturday, earning the victory when Gall scored on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh. Camden Osborn with 3-for-3 with three RBIs and earned the win in relief. Salmen drove in four runs with two hits. Gall also added two hits.

Milbank (18-9) had its season end with the loss to Platte-Geddes. Hoeke had two hits and Bryce Lamp doubled for Milbank.

State A Legion

Defending champion and perennial power Rapid City Post 22, Sioux Falls East and Harrisburg were the three teams remaining heading into Sunday in the state Class A Legion tournament at Rapid City.

Harrisburg remained alive with a 7-0 win over Mitchell on Saturday and Post 22 slipped past Sioux Falls East 6-5 in nine innings.

East (35-14) had already clinched a berth in Sunday's championship game. Post 22 (39-24) and Harrisburg (20-16) were slated to play, with the winner set to meet East for the title.

State A Junior Legion

The Watertown Post 17 Junior Legion team (35-14) shook off a 2-1 loss to Sioux Falls East in its opener on Thursday to reach the semifinals.

Post 17 recovered to top Brandon Valley 4-2 on Friday and Renner 5-4 on Saturday to finish second in its pool.

Sunday's semifinals included Sioux Falls East vs. the Rapid City Bullets at 9:30 a.m. and Watertown vs. Brookings at noon, followed by the championship at 2:30 p.m.

Some of the Watertown players were members of the Watertown Grey Sox who won the Class A Baseball 13-and-under state title in 2020 and also members of the Watertown Black Sox who won the Class A Baseball 14-and-under state championship in 2021.

Watertown Red Sox base runner Blake Davis slides into the plate ahead of the throw to Renner pitcher Cooper Bielitz during their game Friday night in the state Class A Baseball 16-and-under tournament in Watertown. The Red Sox finished 1-2 in the tourney.
Watertown Red Sox base runner Blake Davis slides into the plate ahead of the throw to Renner pitcher Cooper Bielitz during their game Friday night in the state Class A Baseball 16-and-under tournament in Watertown. The Red Sox finished 1-2 in the tourney.

Class A 16-and-Under

The Watertown Red Sox, the host team for the Class A 16-and-under state tourney, went 1-2 and ended the season with a 6-35-1 record.

Watertown walked off Sioux Falls West 8-7 on Thursday before falling to Renner 14-7 on Friday and Huron 6-1 on Saturday.

Tourney semifinals on Sunday included Renner vs. Harrisburg Gold at 10:30 a.m. and Yankton vs. Huron at 1 p.m.. The two winners were slated to play for the championship at 3:30 p.m. at Watertown Stadium.

Class A 14-and-Under

The Watertown Black Sox won their pool by beating Brookings 7-3 on Thursday, Rapid City Post 320 14-7 on Friday and Renner 5-0 on Saturday.

The Black Sox (29-10) were slated to meet Harrisburg Sunday in the semifinals at 10:30 a.m., followed by Sioux Falls West Navy and Yankton in the other semifinal at 1 p.m. The two winners play were scheduled to meet for the title at 3:30 p.m.

Aberdeen (16-10) went 2-1 in the tourney, falling to Harrisburg 20-11 on Thursday before beating Sioux Falls West Red 8-5 on Friday and Brandon Valley 12-2 on Saturday.

Watertown Grey Sox pitcher Johnathan Lake throws to the plate Friday during the team's 9-3 win over Huron in the state Class A Baseball 13-and-under state baseball tournament at Brookings. The Grey Sox (33-7) won their pool with a 3-0 record and reached the tourney semifinals on Sunday.
Watertown Grey Sox pitcher Johnathan Lake throws to the plate Friday during the team's 9-3 win over Huron in the state Class A Baseball 13-and-under state baseball tournament at Brookings. The Grey Sox (33-7) won their pool with a 3-0 record and reached the tourney semifinals on Sunday.

Class A 13-and-Under

The Grey Sox (33-7) also went 3-0 to win their pool, topping Yankton 27-0 on Thursday, Huron 9-3 on Friday and Mitchell 13-3 on Saturday.

Watertown is the No. 2 seed and was scheduled to meet No. 3 seed Renner Sunday in the semifinals. Top-seeded Harrisburg Gold was scheduled to face wild-card Pierre in the other semifinal. The two semifinal winners were scheduled to advance to the championship.

Aberdeen (10-15) went 1-2 in the tourney, losing to Renner 5-2 on Thursday and Pierre 1-0 on Friday before topping Harrisburg Maroon 3-2 on Saturday.

Caden Corey of the Watertown Grey Sox takes a swing at at the ball Friday during the team's 9-3 win over Huron in the state Class A Baseball 13-and-under state baseball tournament at Brookings. The Grey Sox (33-7) won their pool with a 3-0 record and reached the tourney semifinals on Sunday.
Caden Corey of the Watertown Grey Sox takes a swing at at the ball Friday during the team's 9-3 win over Huron in the state Class A Baseball 13-and-under state baseball tournament at Brookings. The Grey Sox (33-7) won their pool with a 3-0 record and reached the tourney semifinals on Sunday.

Class A 13/14-and-Under

The Watertown White Sox (8-17) lost to Yankton 11-1 on Friday and Sioux Falls Post 15 by a 14-8 score on Saturday. Watertown was scheduled to meet Brandon Valley on Sunday.

Aberdeen split two games, beating Brandon Valley 14-13 on Friday and losing to Renner 11-1 on Saturday. Aberdeen is slated to play Sioux Falls Post 15  on Sunday.

District 1B Amateurs

The tournament concluded on Thursday with the top-seeded Milbank Firechiefs (13-3) blanking the second-seeded Volga Cormorants 6-0 in the title game.

A four-run fourth inning sparked Milbank, which got a complete game 5-hitter with 20 strikeouts from Dominique Boerger. Taylor Boerger had three hits and Jacob Jackson two with two runs batted in.

Trevor Olson took the loss for Volga. North Dakota State recruit Parker Puetz fanned 11 batters in 4 2/3 innings of relief.

The Lake Norden Lakers handled the Clark Traders 14-2 on Monday, the Aurora Aces beat the Castlewood Monarchs 4-2 on on Tuesday and the Castlewood Monarchs topped Clark 6-3 on Wednesday in other state-qualifying games.

Mitchell Noem and Kale Stevenson each homered and Kade Russell notched the win for Lake Norden; Aurora snapped a 2-2 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth to beat Castlewood; and Kyler Tvedt pitched six strong innings to carry Castlewood past Clark.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown Post 17 Junior Legion, Black Sox and Grey Sox reach state semifinals