SOX WALLOP BURKE IN STATE AMATEUR OPENER; 79ERS 5TH AT STATE
Burke uses “bombers” as its amateur team’s name.
On Sunday afternoon, that moniker much better applied to Freeman.
The Blacksox cranked out 19 runs on 20 hits, seven of which went for extra bases, in a mercy rule-shortened, 19-4 win in the first round of the Class B State Amateur Baseball Tournament Sunday afternoon, Aug. 10 in Brandon.
The Blacksox — playing in their first state tournament in three seasons — now move on to the second round Wednesday night, Aug. 13 against the Dell Rapids Mudcats; first pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
“Just great all around,” player/manager Jake Weier said after Sunday’s win. “We played great defense, threw strikes and hit the crap out of the ball. Everybody was swinging.”
Freeman had five players with three or more hits: Bailey Sage went 5-for-5, Rocky Ammann was 4-for-5, Jackson Fiegen finished 4-for-4, and Riley Tschetter and Avery Mellman both went 3-for-4.
Sage and Fiegen each doubled twice, Ammann and Mellman both had a double, and Mellman also added a two-run home run for good measure.
Sage led the way with six RBI, Mellman had four, Ammann and Fiegen both had three, Tschetter had two and Weier added another.
It was more than enough offense for Doug Hall, a South Central League pickup player from Menno, who allowed four runs on five hits over four innings pitched, striking out four and walking three. Evan Scharberg pitched the fifth and final inning of clean baseball.
POST 152 FINISHES 5TH AT STATE LEGION TOURNAMENT
The Post 152 Junior Legion that plays as Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota (SMFC) ended an outstanding season on a positive note Sunday afternoon, taking down Madison Post 25 by a 15-1 score in Milbank — the birthplace of American Legion Baseball 100 years ago.
The 79ers finished fifth in the eight-team 2025 Class B American Legion State Tournament after winning two of three. They dropped their opener on Friday against Sioux Falls Post 911 — a team from Sioux Falls Christian — before coming back to defeat Clark Area on Saturday, and then Madison on Sunday.
After the game, head coach Dustin Tschetter acknowledged that the boys were dealt a tough first-round draw against a Sioux Falls team that relied on a hard-throwing pitcher — Maddux Munson, who plays on multiple traveling teams and pitched just 11 innings for Sioux Falls prior to the state tournament — to shut down a 79ers team that went to state with a 22-2 record.
“If this was double elimination,” Tschetter told the team after Sunday’s win, “we probably win this thing.”
Instead, Post 152 settled for fifth place on the backs of a solid, mercy rule-shortened season finale, and finished the season 24-3.
“It’s a great group of kids,” Tschetter said of his 16-under 79ers, some of whom have been playing together since they were 5 years old. “We’ve got a lot of really talented players. Friday, we obviously ran into a really good pitcher; we face that team any other day of the week, we probably beat them nine out of 10 times. But the boys bounced back well.”
The 79ers’ 15-1 win over Madison included a six-run first, five-run third and four-run fourth, with Tannen Auch giving up one run on three hits in three innings pitched, striking out four and walking one. Riley Gall pitched the final two innings and did not allow a hit or a walk while striking out four.
The offense, meanwhile, was led by Oliver Waltner, who finished 3-for-4 and had a game-high three RBI. Auch and Tayden Kerrigan each had two singles, with Easton Tschetter also recording a hit.
Madison committed seven errors; the 79ers had none.
79ERS BLANK CLARK IN ELIMINATION GAME
Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota (SMFC) earned the opportunity to play for fifth by beating Clark Area Post 328 5-0 in an elimination game Saturday morning, Aug. 9. The 79ers took a 23-3 record in Sunday’s game; Madison, which defeated Milbank in Saturday’s other elimination game by a 10-0 score, was 11-17.
Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota won on the heels of an outstanding pitching performance from Easton Tschetter, who allowed just two hits in a complete-game effort. The Freeman sophomore threw 102 pitches — three short of the maximum pitch count — and struck out 10 against three walks.
While the 79ers accumulated just six hits in the game, they benefited from five Clark Area errors; of Post 152’s five runs, just one was earned.
Tayden Kerrigan went 2-for-3 with a two-RBI double that extended a 3-0 lead to a 5-0 advantage in the seventh inning. Oliver Waltner also doubled for Post 152, with Trey Maske, Logun Pankratz and Tschetter all picking up singles.
Clark Area ended its season 11-4.
MUNSON, SIOUX FALLS SHUT DOWN 79ERS
Prior to state, the last time the Post 152 Junior Legion was on the playing field it came back from a five-run deficit in the seventh inning to record a stunning walk-off win.
No such luck Friday afternoon.
Playing in the first round of the 2025 American Legion State Tournament in Milbank, Scotland/Menno/Freeman/Canistota (SMFC) was overpowered by Sioux Falls Post 911 — specifically, by hard-throwing Maddux Munson — and suffered a 5-0 loss.
Munson, who will be a junior at Sioux Falls Christian, did not allow a hit in five innings pitched while striking out 10.
The only hit recorded by Post 152 was a single by Izayah Ulmer in the seventh inning.
SMFC may have only managed one hit against Sioux Falls, but it had its chances thanks to multiple baserunners that came courtesy of nine walks by Munson — including a bases-loaded-with-no-out situation in the fourth inning.
Of the 79ers’ 21 plate appearances, 13 concluded with strikeouts.
Oliver Waltner took the loss for Post 152, giving up six hits — including a two-run home run — in three innings pitched. He struck out two and did not allow a walk.
Tannen Auch threw two innings and gave up two runs on two hits while striking out three and walking two, and Tayden Kerrigan pitched the final two frames, giving up one unearned run, striking out two and walking three.
ALL TOURNAMENT SCORES
Friday, Aug. 8
- Parkston 5, Clark Area 4
- Sioux Falls 5, SMFC 0
- Dakota Valley 9, Madison 2
- Belle Fourche 5, Milbank 4
Saturday, Aug. 9
- SMFC 5, Clark Area 0
- Madison 10, Milbank 0
- Parkston 17, Sioux Falls 8
- Belle Fourche 7, Dakota Valley 4
Sunday, Aug. 10
- SMFC 15, Madison 1 (5th place game)
- Dakota Valley 11 Sioux Falls 6 (3rd place game)
- Parkston 12, Belle Fourche 2 (championship)
