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RAPID CITY — Another strong postseason run by the Watertown Arrows Post 17 baseball team ended with an 8-0 loss to Sioux Falls West in the 2026 state Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament.
Post 17, which went a combined 38-25 over the high school and Legion seasons in 2026, went 2-2 in the tourney and finished as one of the final four teams in the tourney.
Watertown opened the tourney on Tuesday, July 28 with a 10-2 loss to eventual champion Rapid City Post 22. Post 17 then beat Brandon Valley 5-3 in eight innings on July 29 and Rapid City Post 320 7-0 on July 30 before coming up short against Sioux Falls West.
"As the No. 10 seed, we knew we were going to have to play outstanding baseball if we wanted to stay in the tournament, and I thought our guys did exactly that over the course of four days," Post 17 coach Ryan Neale said. "Our only two losses came against the two teams that played for the state championship."
Here are some highlights from each of Post 17's state tourney games:
"I couldn't be more proud of what this team accomplished," Neale added. "To finish tied for third after entering as the No. 10 seed says a lot about the character of this group."
Host Rapid City Post 22 (49-12) completed a 5-0 run in the tourney by beating Yankton 4-3 on July 31 and Sioux Falls West 8-3 in the championship on Aug. 1. The state title was the 45th for Post 22, which advances to the Central Plains Regional Aug. 5-9 at Mandan, ND.
Post 22 second baseman and Nebraska recruit Wyatt Reeder, who batted .769 (10-for-13), received the Big Stick and MVP awards in the tourney. Sioux Falls West received the Porter T. Talcott Sportsmanship Award.
In other postseason baseball highlights this week:
MADISON — Host Madison clinched a berth in the tourney championship by beating Volga 4-3 on Quincy Kurtz's walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning on Sunday, Aug. 2.
Braden Danzeisen homered and singled for Volga.
The tourney continues Aug. 4.
SIOUX FALLS — Watertown Post 17 went 0-3 in the state tournament that was held Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, Aug. 2 at Harmodon Park.
Post 17 (33-24) opened pool play with a 13-3 loss to the Renner Post 307 Kings on July 30. Kaeden Himmerich and Caleb Kannas each had two hits for Watertown.
Harrisburg Gold topped Watertown 5-3 on July 31. Levi Lund drove in two runs for Post 17, which got singles from Taren Veflin and Kannas.
Watertown closed out the tournament with a 12-3 pool-play loss to Sioux Falls East on Aug. 1. Kannas had two hits in the loss.
Brandon Valley Black downed Harrisburg Gold 11-1 in the semifinals and Renner 9-5 in the championship on Aug. 2. Renner advanced to the finals with a 5-4 win over the Rapid City Post 320 Shooters.
MORE BASEBALL: Postseason tournaments held for Legion, Junior Legion, amateur & other levels
Redfield went 3-1 and outlasted Volga to win the Region 6B tournament July 27-29 at Clark. Volga, which went 3-2, came out of the consolation bracket to beat Redfield 16-15 in 8 innings on July 29 before Redfield followed with a 14-4 win. Tate Bray went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and three RBIs in the final game.
Both teams will play in the state tourney Aug. 7-9 at Redfield.
Sisseton also qualified for the tourney by going 3-1 and winning the Region 1B tourney July 27-29 in Sisseton. Groton came out of the consolation bracket to beat Sisseton 12-8 on July 29 (getting two hits and four RBIs from T.C. Schuster and three hits each from Zach and Braden Fliehs) before Sisseton won the final game 7-4 with two RBIs each from JJ Hamm and Karter Deutsch.
The state tourney opens on Aug. 7 with Winner-Colome facing Volga at 10 a.m., followed by Madison vs. Canton (30 minutes after Game 1) and Dakota Valley vs. Parkston (30 minutes after Game 2). Host Redfield and Sisseton will play at 6 p.m. The bracket-style tourney also features four games on Saturday, Aug. 8 and three on Sunday, Aug. 9. There is no seventh-place game.
SDABA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES: SDABA Hall of Fame banquet scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 1 in Flandreau
CASTLEWOOD — Austin Buysse's run-scoring single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the top-seeded Volga Cormorants to a 2-1 win over the second-seeded Castlewood Ravens in the championship game of the District 1B tournament on Friday, July 31.
Castlewood tied the game at 2-2 on Nate Phinney's homer in the top of the eighth. Booker Schooley also homered and Gus Steiger and Lucas Ching each had two hits for the Ravens (11-5). Kellan Benck went the distance on the mound in the loss.
Volga (14-7) got two hits apiece from Buysse, Kyler Bezdichek and Trevor Olson. Olson went six innings on the mound, and Jordan Sagedahl earned the win with three innings of relief.
The Lake Norden Lakers (11-7) and Clark Traders (6-8) also qualified for state from the tourney, which opened July 25 and ended on Friday, July 31.
Results from weekend games already were published. On July 27, the Milbank Firechiefs eliminated the Elkton Snappers 5-1 with 17 strikeouts from Dom Boerger, three hits from Brady Femling and two hits and three RBIs from Joe Schulte.
Clark beat Lake Norden 11-0 on July 28 to secure a state-tournament berth. Clark Legion player Watson Grantham tossed a one-hitter, and Zach Toben went 3-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs.
On July 29, Lake Norden beat Milbank 7-1 to clinch a state-tourney berth. Josh Cleveland tossed a two-hitter, Mick Tulson drove in four runs with two hits and Kale Stevenson doubled and homered for the Lakers.
NORTHVILLE — Top-seeded Redfield Dairy Queen (13-1) and No. 2 seed Groton Locke Electric (6-7) each secured state Class B tournament berths in the three-team tourney.
Redfield edged Groton 8-7 to win the tournament championship on July 28. Camden Osborn went 4-for-4 with two doubles and Bennett Osborn homered.
Groton came back on July 29 to top Northville 8-7 with Watertown native Ben Althoff going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs.
BROOKINGS — The Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar (11-5) secured a berth in the state Class A tournament by splitting two games on Saturday, Aug. 1 in a tournament at Brookings.
Aberdeen beat the Sioux Falls Brewers 17-7 with Jaiden Smith going 4-for-4 with five RBIs and Casey Vining driving in three runs with three hits, including two homers. WolfDon Thorson and Michael Babcock each also had three hits, and Kris Kwak plated four runs with a double and a homer. Vining drove in three more runs in a 15-3 loss to the Brookings Cubs with a solo homer and a two-run single.
The state A tourney opens Aug. 7-9 at Yankton.
MITCHELL — Thirty-two Class B teams, including six from northeastern and north central South Dakota, will play in the 94th South Dakota State Amateur Baseball Tournament Aug. 5-16 at Cadwell Park in Mitchell.
The Class A portion of the tourney, which is double-elimination, runs Aug. 7-9 at Yankton with six of the eight teams advancing to the final weekend Aug. 14-16 at Cadwell Park in Mitchell. Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar is among the teams in Class A.
The complete first-round pairings are listed below (area teams in bold). The complete brackets for Class B and Class A are posted online at www.thepublicopinion.com.
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: Postseason baseball: Watertown Post 17 makes run, state amateur pairings set
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Post 17, which went a combined 38-25 over the high school and Legion seasons in 2026, went 2-2 in the tourney and finished as one of the final four teams in the tourney.
Watertown opened the tourney on Tuesday, July 28 with a 10-2 loss to eventual champion Rapid City Post 22. Post 17 then beat Brandon Valley 5-3 in eight innings on July 29 and Rapid City Post 320 7-0 on July 30 before coming up short against Sioux Falls West.
"As the No. 10 seed, we knew we were going to have to play outstanding baseball if we wanted to stay in the tournament, and I thought our guys did exactly that over the course of four days," Post 17 coach Ryan Neale said. "Our only two losses came against the two teams that played for the state championship."
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Here are some highlights from each of Post 17's state tourney games:
- Rapid City Post 22 10, Watertown 2 — Post 22 plated four runs in the bottom of the first inning and rolled to the win. Cole Hansen and Sam Olson each had two hits for Post 17.
- Watertown 5, Brandon Valley 3 — Brandon Valley grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first. Watertown cut the lead to 3-2 on Carter Buisker's two-run single in the fifth, tied the game on Cain Everson's safety squeeze bunt in the seventh and won the game on Jaxon Falak's two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth. Hunter Halajain struck out six batters in seven strong innings, and Buisker recorded the final two outs for the save.
- Watertown 7, Rapid City Post 320 0 — Jackson McClemans, who started and took the loss against RC Post 22 in the tourney opener, tossed the complete-game shutout in this game. He allowed six hits and fanned four batters for Post 17, which plated five runs in the bottom of the first on a three-run homer by Markus Pitkin and a two-run single by Ashton Rabine. Pitkin also doubled and finished with four RBIs.
- Sioux Falls West 8, Watertown 0 — West scored two runs apiece in the bottom of the first, second, fourth and fifth innings. Everson had two of Watertown's six hits, and Olson added a double."
"I couldn't be more proud of what this team accomplished," Neale added. "To finish tied for third after entering as the No. 10 seed says a lot about the character of this group."
Host Rapid City Post 22 (49-12) completed a 5-0 run in the tourney by beating Yankton 4-3 on July 31 and Sioux Falls West 8-3 in the championship on Aug. 1. The state title was the 45th for Post 22, which advances to the Central Plains Regional Aug. 5-9 at Mandan, ND.
Post 22 second baseman and Nebraska recruit Wyatt Reeder, who batted .769 (10-for-13), received the Big Stick and MVP awards in the tourney. Sioux Falls West received the Porter T. Talcott Sportsmanship Award.
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In other postseason baseball highlights this week:
State B Legion
MADISON — Host Madison clinched a berth in the tourney championship by beating Volga 4-3 on Quincy Kurtz's walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning on Sunday, Aug. 2.
Braden Danzeisen homered and singled for Volga.
The tourney continues Aug. 4.
- Sunday, Aug. 2 — In elimination games, Dakota Valley beat Groton 8-4, and Dell Rapids turned back Parkston 9-7. Sterling Schauff had three hits for Dakota Valley and Jordan Schwan homered and doubled for Groton. Gauge Bunkers and Haiden Kaffar each drove in three runs for Dell Rapids.
- Saturday, Aug. 1 — Dell Rapids downed Garretson 211-9 and Dakota Valley topped Belle Fource 12-10 in elimination games. Connor Hanson drove in three runs for Dell Rapids. Jack Jones had three hits for Dakota Valley. In the winner's bracket, Volga scored three runs in the top of the first and held off Groton 4-3, and Madison beat Parkston 9-2. Wyatt Hardt hit a bases-clearing triple and Tate Steffensen added two hits to back Damon Uecker's solid pitching for Volga. TC Schuster had three hits for Groton. Casyn Crabtree fired a three-hitter with seven strikeouts and JD Prorok homered for Madison.
- Friday, July 31 — Volga beat Dell Rapids 3-1 behind Hardt, who tossed a four-hitter with a double and single, and Trentyn Schmit, who hit a two-run single. Parkston topped Belle Fourche 7-2 with two hits by Kolter Kramer and two RBIs from Jaxx Kurtenach. Groton held off Garretson 3-2 with Jarrett Erdmann (5 2/3, 3 hits) and Nick Groeblinghoff (1 1/3, 1 hit) teaming on a four-hitter and Schwan and Karsten Fliehs each delivering run-scoring hits. Cale Johnson's two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning helped host Madison close the day with a 6-4 win over Dakota Valley.
Class A Junior Legion
SIOUX FALLS — Watertown Post 17 went 0-3 in the state tournament that was held Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, Aug. 2 at Harmodon Park.
Post 17 (33-24) opened pool play with a 13-3 loss to the Renner Post 307 Kings on July 30. Kaeden Himmerich and Caleb Kannas each had two hits for Watertown.
Harrisburg Gold topped Watertown 5-3 on July 31. Levi Lund drove in two runs for Post 17, which got singles from Taren Veflin and Kannas.
Watertown closed out the tournament with a 12-3 pool-play loss to Sioux Falls East on Aug. 1. Kannas had two hits in the loss.
Brandon Valley Black downed Harrisburg Gold 11-1 in the semifinals and Renner 9-5 in the championship on Aug. 2. Renner advanced to the finals with a 5-4 win over the Rapid City Post 320 Shooters.
MORE BASEBALL: Postseason tournaments held for Legion, Junior Legion, amateur & other levels
Class B Junior Legion
Redfield went 3-1 and outlasted Volga to win the Region 6B tournament July 27-29 at Clark. Volga, which went 3-2, came out of the consolation bracket to beat Redfield 16-15 in 8 innings on July 29 before Redfield followed with a 14-4 win. Tate Bray went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and three RBIs in the final game.
Both teams will play in the state tourney Aug. 7-9 at Redfield.
Sisseton also qualified for the tourney by going 3-1 and winning the Region 1B tourney July 27-29 in Sisseton. Groton came out of the consolation bracket to beat Sisseton 12-8 on July 29 (getting two hits and four RBIs from T.C. Schuster and three hits each from Zach and Braden Fliehs) before Sisseton won the final game 7-4 with two RBIs each from JJ Hamm and Karter Deutsch.
The state tourney opens on Aug. 7 with Winner-Colome facing Volga at 10 a.m., followed by Madison vs. Canton (30 minutes after Game 1) and Dakota Valley vs. Parkston (30 minutes after Game 2). Host Redfield and Sisseton will play at 6 p.m. The bracket-style tourney also features four games on Saturday, Aug. 8 and three on Sunday, Aug. 9. There is no seventh-place game.
SDABA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES: SDABA Hall of Fame banquet scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 1 in Flandreau
District 1B Amateur
CASTLEWOOD — Austin Buysse's run-scoring single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the top-seeded Volga Cormorants to a 2-1 win over the second-seeded Castlewood Ravens in the championship game of the District 1B tournament on Friday, July 31.
Castlewood tied the game at 2-2 on Nate Phinney's homer in the top of the eighth. Booker Schooley also homered and Gus Steiger and Lucas Ching each had two hits for the Ravens (11-5). Kellan Benck went the distance on the mound in the loss.
Volga (14-7) got two hits apiece from Buysse, Kyler Bezdichek and Trevor Olson. Olson went six innings on the mound, and Jordan Sagedahl earned the win with three innings of relief.
The Lake Norden Lakers (11-7) and Clark Traders (6-8) also qualified for state from the tourney, which opened July 25 and ended on Friday, July 31.
Results from weekend games already were published. On July 27, the Milbank Firechiefs eliminated the Elkton Snappers 5-1 with 17 strikeouts from Dom Boerger, three hits from Brady Femling and two hits and three RBIs from Joe Schulte.
Clark beat Lake Norden 11-0 on July 28 to secure a state-tournament berth. Clark Legion player Watson Grantham tossed a one-hitter, and Zach Toben went 3-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs.
On July 29, Lake Norden beat Milbank 7-1 to clinch a state-tourney berth. Josh Cleveland tossed a two-hitter, Mick Tulson drove in four runs with two hits and Kale Stevenson doubled and homered for the Lakers.
Northern Plains League Amateur
NORTHVILLE — Top-seeded Redfield Dairy Queen (13-1) and No. 2 seed Groton Locke Electric (6-7) each secured state Class B tournament berths in the three-team tourney.
Redfield edged Groton 8-7 to win the tournament championship on July 28. Camden Osborn went 4-for-4 with two doubles and Bennett Osborn homered.
Groton came back on July 29 to top Northville 8-7 with Watertown native Ben Althoff going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs.
Class A Amateurs
BROOKINGS — The Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar (11-5) secured a berth in the state Class A tournament by splitting two games on Saturday, Aug. 1 in a tournament at Brookings.
Aberdeen beat the Sioux Falls Brewers 17-7 with Jaiden Smith going 4-for-4 with five RBIs and Casey Vining driving in three runs with three hits, including two homers. WolfDon Thorson and Michael Babcock each also had three hits, and Kris Kwak plated four runs with a double and a homer. Vining drove in three more runs in a 15-3 loss to the Brookings Cubs with a solo homer and a two-run single.
The state A tourney opens Aug. 7-9 at Yankton.
State Amateur Tournament Pairings
MITCHELL — Thirty-two Class B teams, including six from northeastern and north central South Dakota, will play in the 94th South Dakota State Amateur Baseball Tournament Aug. 5-16 at Cadwell Park in Mitchell.
The Class A portion of the tourney, which is double-elimination, runs Aug. 7-9 at Yankton with six of the eight teams advancing to the final weekend Aug. 14-16 at Cadwell Park in Mitchell. Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar is among the teams in Class A.
The complete first-round pairings are listed below (area teams in bold). The complete brackets for Class B and Class A are posted online at www.thepublicopinion.com.
- Class B — Aug. 5: Elk Point vs. Parkston Mudcats, 5:30 p.m. and Valley Springs vs. Kimball/White Lake, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6: Dell Rapids PBR vs. Colome, 11 a.m.; Garretson vs. Lesterville, 1 p.m.; Wynot, NE vs. Lake Norden, 5:30 p.m. and Alexandria vs. Crofton, NE 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7:Groton vs. Lennox, 11 a.m.; Volga vs. Salem, 1 p.m.; Wessington Springs vs. Clark, 5:30 p.m. and Tabor vs. Mount Vernon, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 8: Humboldt-Hartford Gamecocks vs. Parkston Rays, 11 a.m.; Dell Rapids Mudcats vs. Winner-Colome Pheasants, 1 p.m.; Canova vs. Castlewood, 5:30 p.m. and Burke vs. Redfield DQ, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 9: Flandreau vs. Larchwood, IA, 11 a.m. and Humboldt-Hartford Wood Ducks vs. Four Corners, 1 p.m.
- Class A — Aug. 7: Brookings Cubs vs. Tea Steam, 5:30 p.m. and Yankton Lakers vs. Harrisburg Woodies, 8 p.m. Aug. 8: Aug. 7 losers at 11 a.m., Aug. 7 winners at 1:30 p.m.; Black Hills A's vs. Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar, 5 p.m. and Renner Monarchs vs. Sioux Falls Brewers, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9: Aug. 8 5 & 7:30 p.m. losers at 11 a.m. and winners at 1:30 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: Postseason baseball: Watertown Post 17 makes run, state amateur pairings set
Continue reading...
