Season ends for Watertown Post 17 with loss to Brookings in the State A American Legion tourney

Roger Merriam, Watertown Public Opinion

BROOKINGS — Watertown Post 17's season and its quest for the program's first state title since 1931 came to a crashing end Friday in the state Class A American Legion Baseball tournament.

Host Brookings (26-21) scored 10 runs, nine unearned, in the bottom of the first inning and cruised to a 13-1 five-inning win over Watertown (46-25) in an elimination game.

"The season might not of ended that way we wanted it to, but this team has a lot to proud of. Forty-six wins on the year is the second most in program history and a third-place finish, Watertown's best in 14 years, is nothing to be ashamed of," Watertown head coach Ryan Neale said. "We as coaches are extremely proud of these kids and what they were able to do. "

Post 17 won three of four regular-season games against Brookings, who got even in a big way. The Bandits turned six hits, two walks and three Watertown errors into a 10-run bottom of the first inning.

Watertown Post 17 second baseman Treyton Himmerich throws to first to complete a double play after forcing out Brookings' Tate Helmbolt during their game against Brookings in the state Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at Bob Sheldon Field in Brookings. Brookings won 13-1 in five innings.
Watertown Post 17 second baseman Treyton Himmerich throws to first to complete a double play after forcing out Brookings' Tate Helmbolt during their game against Brookings in the state Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at Bob Sheldon Field in Brookings. Brookings won 13-1 in five innings.

That was pretty much game, set and match.

After opening the tourney with a 4-2 win over Sioux Falls East and a 3-2 11-inning win over defending state champion and top-seeded Harrisburg Gold, Post 17 was eliminated with back-to-back losses by the 10-run rule.

"Baseball is a very humbling sport and we saw that first hand this week in Brookings. We were able to achieve something that no other South Dakota team had done this season by beating the defending state champions," Neale said. "This week was a great learning experience for the younger kids and will look forward to building on this into next year when we host the state tourney."

Owen Schneider went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and six RBIs for Brookings. Breck Hirschoff allowed only three hits and an unearned run in five innings on the mound for Brookings.

Watertown Post 17 shortstop Nathan Briggs attempts to throw to first after fielding a ball in the hole during their game against Brookings in the state Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at Bob Sheldon Field in Brookings. Brookings won 13-1 in five innings.
Watertown Post 17 shortstop Nathan Briggs attempts to throw to first after fielding a ball in the hole during their game against Brookings in the state Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at Bob Sheldon Field in Brookings. Brookings won 13-1 in five innings.

Hayden Ries, Nash Berg and Treyton Himmerich each singled for Post 17. Will Engstrom started and took the loss, despite allowing only one earned run. Markus Pitkin finished off the game.

"I want to thank the Watertown community for all their support this week at the sate tournament. We had a lot of fans in attendance, and also watching or listening back home, it truly was a great experience for these kids," Neale added.

"I also would like to thank our four seniors (Will Engstrom, Marcus Rabine, Justin Remmers and Dylon Rawdon)) for everything that they have done over their baseball caree. They are good baseball players but even better kids!" This week was a great learning experience for the younger kids and will look forward to building on this into next year when we get to host the State Tournament. "

In Friday's other game, Sullivan Schlimgen's walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh helped Renner (31-12) eliminate Harrisburg Gold (38-9-1).

Charlie Hueners smacked three hits and Schlimgen and Braylon Bear each added two for Renner. Jacob Sanderson earned the complete-game victory.

Eli Kokenge went 3-for-3 and Carter Gronseth clubbed a two-run homer for Harrisburg.

Renner had already clinched a berth in Saturday's championship. Brookings will need to beat Renner twice to claim the title. The first game is set for 11 a.m. A second game, if necessary, will follow.

Watertown Post 17 third baseman Hayden Ries reaches to his left to field a grounder during a game against Brookings in the state Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at Bob Sheldon Field in Brookings. Brookings won 13-1 in five innings.
Watertown Post 17 third baseman Hayden Ries reaches to his left to field a grounder during a game against Brookings in the state Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at Bob Sheldon Field in Brookings. Brookings won 13-1 in five innings.

State B Legion Baseball

SALEM — Area teams Lake Norden-Badger, Big Stone City and Groton in suffered first-round losses on Friday in the double-elimination tourney.

Lake Norden-Badger (22-8) fell to Elk Point-Jefferson 2-0, Big Stone City (14-9) lost to Dell Rapids 10-0 in five innings and Groton Area (20-13) fell to host Salem-Montrose-Canova 9-1. In the other game, Parkston blanked Platte-Geddes 9-0.

Keaton Gale tossed a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts for EPJ (18-6), which scored on a passed ball in the top of the first and added an insurance run on Ashton Fairbanks' run-scoring single in the seventh.

Dawson Noem and Ryker Warrington each doubled and took turns on the mound for LNB. Noem went four innings and Warrington three.

Big Stone City catcher Isaac Brown attempts to field a throw as a Dell Rapids base runner slides into home during their game in the state Class B American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 in Salem. Dell Rapids won 10-0 in five innings.
Big Stone City catcher Isaac Brown attempts to field a throw as a Dell Rapids base runner slides into home during their game in the state Class B American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 in Salem. Dell Rapids won 10-0 in five innings.

Tad Tjaden drove in two runs with two hits and also fired a four-hitter with eight strikeouts to lead Dell Rapids (22-4) past Big Stone City. Mason Stubbe, CJ Smith, Cole Ruesink and Lincoln Fersadahl each added two hits for Dell Rapids.

Dru Boots had two hits and Isaac Brown one for BSC.

Three pitchers combined on a four-hitter tolead Salem-Montrose-Canova (17-10) past Groton. Shea Klinkhammer and Owen Ally each had two hits and Jackson Grady drove in three runs for SMC.

Ryan Groeblinghoff doubled and Teylor Diegel, Colby Dunker and Karsten Fliehs each singled for Groton.

Parkston (12-4) rolled to its win with Carter Sommer and Grady Bowar teaming up to fire a two-hitter. Luke Bormann and James Decker had two hits apiece for Parkston.

Saturday's elimination games include Lake Norden-Badger vs. Platte-Geddes at 10 a.m., followed by Groton vs. Big Stone City. Elk Point-Jefferson faces Parkston at 4 p.m., followed by Dell Rapids vs. Salem-Montrose-Canova.

The tourney continues through Tuesday.

Big Stone City shortstop Dru Boots makes a running throw to first base during a game against Dell Rapids in the state Class B American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 in Salem. Dell Rapids won 10-0 in five innings.
Big Stone City shortstop Dru Boots makes a running throw to first base during a game against Dell Rapids in the state Class B American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 in Salem. Dell Rapids won 10-0 in five innings.

Amateur Baseball

The Elkton Snappers and Northville Merchants each secured berths in the state Class B amateur baseball tournament with wins on Friday.

In the District 1B tourney at Milbank, Elkton (8-13) beat the Clark Traders 4-3, erasing a 1-0 deficit with three runs in the fourth and holding on. The Snappers, a second-year team, will be making their first state-tourney appearance.

Dylan Kuehl had two hits and Dylan Gillespie and Aidan Stewart combined for the win on the mound. Gillespie fanned nine batters and scattered five hits over seven innings. Stewart got the save, allowing two unearned runs in the final two innings.

Wesley Jones doubled and singled for Clark, which finished it season 8-9. Hudson Fuller took the loss.

Big Stone City third baseman Carter Lee throws to first during a game against Dell Rapids in the state Class B American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 in Salem. Dell Rapids won 10-0 in five innings.
Big Stone City third baseman Carter Lee throws to first during a game against Dell Rapids in the state Class B American Legion Baseball Tournament on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 in Salem. Dell Rapids won 10-0 in five innings.

In the Northern Plains League Tournament at Redfield, Northville (4-7) rolled past Groton Locke Electric 15-0 in six innings. The Merchants scored five runs in the top of the second and six more in the seventh.

Devon Fischbach and Jeremiah Mayfield each tallied three hits. Carson Simes, Greg Heyne, Ben Fischbach and Kyle Stahl each added two of the Merchants' 17 hits.

Alex Morris took the loss for Groton (5-7).

State pairings will be released on Sunday.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Baseball highlights from state A & B Legion and district amateur tourneys

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