No. 1 Castlewood moves into Class B semifinals win 7-3 victory

[ASFN Admin]

Two top seeds won openers and a third didn't during the 2026 South Dakota State High School Softball Tournaments on Thursday, June 4 at Aberdeen and Sioux Falls.

In Class B, No. 1 seed Castlewood (19-4) advanced with a 7-3 opening-round win over No. 8 Freeman-Marion/Freeman Academy at the Players Softball Complex in Aberdeen.

SODAK 16 SOFTBALL: Castlewood, Florence-Henry, Redfield & Sioux Valley softball teams qualify for state

In the Class AA tourney at Augustana University's Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, No. 1 Sioux Falls Jefferson improved to 21-0 with 3-0 win over No. 9 Sioux Falls Lincoln.

In the Class A tourney, which is also being played at the Players Softball Complex in Aberdeen, No. 8 Elk Point-Jefferson (10-6) knocked off No. 1 Madison 3-1.

The tourneys continue through Saturday, June 4.

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Here's a recap of Thursday's opening-round games:

Class B​

• No. 1 Castlewood 7, No. 8 Freeman-Marion/Freeman Academy 3 — Castlewood erased a 3-2 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on run-scoring singles by Sophia Kudrna, Morgan Wilson adn Natalie Akin and a sacrifice fly by Kayla Goens. Goens added a double and a single and drove in three runs. Akin and Cydni Kudrna each had two hits and Claire Horn tossed a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts for Castlewood. Claire Loofbourrow had two hits and two RBIs for FMFA (11-8.
• No. 4 Hanson 11, No. 5 Avon 10 — Run-scoring singles by Haleigh Haiar and Jozlynn Tegethoff capped a six-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh that lifted Hanson (19-4) to victory. Neecee Suber hit two doubles and Jacey Schoenrock, Rylee Furgeson and Daleney Jarding each also had two hits. Pria Sesler, Brielle Voigt and Kaydence Metzger had two hits apiece for Avon (16-8).

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• No. 2 McCook Central-Montrose 13, No. 7 Redfield 0 — The No. 8 (Braylee Meyer) and No. 9 (Landry Andal) hitters in the lineup each went 3-for-3 with three runs scored for MCM (21-2). Zaidee Huls fired a four-hit shutout. Makayla Schulz, Octavia Paulsen, Mady Morrissette and Layla Hardie each singled for Redfield (10-8).
• No. 6 Gayville-Volin 3, No. 6 Florence-Henry 1 — Run-scoring hits by Ali Westrum, Paisley Dimmer and Kendra Beeck and a three-hit shutout by Jolie Westrum led the way for Gayville-Volin (15-5). Elizabeth Reiter allowed only one earned run in the complete-game loss for Florence-Henry (15-5), which got two hits from Taylor Vavruska and a double from Aubrey Schmidt.
• Friday's Schedule — Consolation semifinals (FMFA vs. Avon at 10 a.m. and Redfield vs. Florence-Henry at noon); and semifinals (Castlewood vs. Hanson at 2 p.m. and MCM vs. Gayville-Volin at 4 p.m.).

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Class A​

• No. 1 Elk Point-Jefferson 3, No. 1 Madison 1 — Regan Rasmussen fired a three-hitter with seven strikeouts and Cera Schmitz tripled and singled to lift EPJ. Kelcie Dudley finished with two hits for Madison (14-3).
• No. 4 West Central 2, No. 5 Beresford 0 — Run-scoring singles by Sophie Rolfson and Briauna Hoff in the bottom of the sixth inning broke open the scoreless duel for West Central (15-6). Linzie Hoff got the win, surrending only four hits with nine strikeouts. Ivy Keiser doubled and Brynlee Mohning allowed only one earned run in the complete-game loss for Beresford (16-9).
• No. 2 Tri-Valley 13, No. 7 Lennox 4 — No. 8 hitter Haleigh Wallenstein had two hits and four RBIs and No. 9 hitter Isabella Wetmore-Ocampo went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for Tri-Valley (13-4). Ava Christensen added two hits and scored four runs. Aleeah Oltmanns and Hailey Seelan each doubled for Lennox (8-6).
• No. 3 Dakota Valley 7, No. 6 Soux Valley 2 — Madie Munch and Payten Konopasek had two hits apiece and Emma Barrett fanned 11 batters in seven innings for Dakota Valley (13-4). Amelia Jacobson had two hits, including a double, and Morgan Lemme tripled for Sioux Valley (21-5).
• Friday's Schedule — Consolation semifinals (Madison vs. Beresford at 10 a.m. and Lennox vs. Sioux Valley at noon); and semifinals (EPJ vs. West Central at 2 p.m. and Tri-Valley vs. Dakota Valley at 4 p.m.).

Class AA​

• No. 1 Sioux Falls Jefferson 3, No. 9 Sioux Falls Lincoln 0 — Tya Devericks clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning and also tossed a two-hitter with seven strikeouts for SFJ. Sara Mathison doubled and singled for Lincoln (12-10).
• No. 5 Sioux Falls Roosevelt 5, No. 4 Brandon Valley 4 — SFR (15-6) trailed 1-0 before scoring two runs in the top of the sixth and three in the seventh. Desiree Hinch collected three hits and also fanned 15 batters in the win and Meile Mellegaard hit two doubles for SFR. Kennedy Fitts had two hits for Brandon Valley (14-5).

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• No. 2 Harrisburg 6, No. 7 O'Gorman 5 — Harrisburg (20-1) plated five runs in the bottom of the first and held on for the win, getting two hits apiece from Peyton LaFramboise, Leia Knutson and Elyse Gross. Athley Herold-Stephens had three hits, including two doubles, for O'Gorman (13-8).
• No. 3 Sioux Falls Washignton 10, No. 6 Rapid City Stevens 3 —Maddy Mescher homered and tossed a complete game on the mound for SFW (20-3), which received two hits and three RBIs from Josie Biteler. Kara Cox and Macy Muth each doubled and singled for RCS (14-6).
• Friday's Schedule — Consolation semifinals (SF Lincoln vs. Brandon Valley at 10 a.m. and O'Gorman vs. RC Stevens at noon); and semifinals (SF Jefferson vs. SF Roosevelt at 2 p.m. and Harrisburg vs. SF Washington at 4 p.m.).

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: First-round highlights from state softball tournaments

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