SD Baseball Class A Ultimate Recap: Lincoln Completes Cinderella Story

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STATE TOURNAMENT

SEMIFINALS

Mitchell 5, Roosevelt 4

The two highest seeds to reach the state tournament battled it out in the semifinals, with Roosevelt scoring the lone run through 5 innings. The Kernels responded in the 6th inning, when a Jake Helleloid triple scored Dylan Soulek and Jonah Schmidt. Just 4 pitches later, Helleloid scored on an error to give the Kernels a 3-1 lead.

Mitchell would capitalize on 6 solid innings of pitching from Helleloid and 2 more runs in the 7th to take a healthy lead into the final try for Roosevelt. The Rough Riders, however, nearly made the comeback, score a trio of runs and stranding runners on second and third with a game-ending strikeout.

Lincoln 7, Washington 6

The Patriots came into the tournament on a 5-game losing streak, but carried the momentum of victories over Stevens and Brandon Valley into the semifinals. Washington struck first with a single by Myles Rees and the Patriots responded with a 2-out, 2-RBI triple from Ryan Husman.

The Warriors then increased the pressure with a 4-run 2nd inning, but the Patriots chipped away, scoring 2 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to match Washington, who scored another run in the 4th.

Neither team pushed a run across in the 6th, but the Patriots scored the go-ahead run in the final try by Charlie Mickelson, and Sawyer Tolk finished the game with a strikeout to put Lincoln into the state championship.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Lincoln 6, Mitchell 1

It was a close battle for most of the game, with Mitchell taking an early 1-0 lead on a Schmidt triple. The Patriots would respond with a sacrifice fly in the 2nd, an Oscar Lockwood-Powell single in the 3rd, and a Mason Tolrud single in the 4th, all which scored runs.

Lincoln Vasgaard kept the bats at bay for the Kernels, striking out 7 with 3 hits in a complete game effort, and Lincoln secured the the championship with a 3-run 6th inning.

It was a truly remarkable run for the Patriots, who started the season 0-5, but built to their top level of baseball by the end of the year.

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HOME RUN LEADERS

8 HOME RUNS

Tyman Long, Harrisburg

4 HOME RUNS

Jack Sutton, Harrisburg

Ridge Inhofer, Sturgis

3 HOME RUNS

Brayden Byrum, Roosevelt

Cael Swanson, Washington

2 HOME RUNS

Matt Brown, Brandon Valley

Nathan Motl, Lincoln

Cade Kaiser, Pierre

Lincoln Kienholz, Pierre

When talking about home runs in South Dakota, you have to start the conversation with Tyman Long. He doubled the totals of any other player in either class, and lead Harrisburg to the overall team title with 17 dingers. Throughout the season, however, Long never hit 2 home runs in 1 game, blasting one out against Stevens, Pierre, Sheyenne (ND), Huron, Pierre, Lincoln, and twice against Mitchell in both games of a double header.

Without Long, his teammate Jack Sutton would share the title with Ridge Inhofer of Sturgis. Sutton hit one out against Stevens in both games of the opening day double-header, and then didn’t hit another home run until May 7th against Mitchell and May 10th against Brandon Valley.

Ridge Inhofer, meanwhile, hit all of his home runs west of the missouri river, knocking 1 out against Douglas, 2 versus Belle Fourche and a 4th and final home run against Stevens. He was also the only player in West River Area in Class A to hit a home run this season.

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TOP 10 PITCHING PERFORMANCES

For Top Pitching Performances, we are going to use Bill James’ Game Score. For those unfamiliar, it’s a system that legendary sabermetrician Bill James used to evaluate starts. Here is the formula:

Start with 50 points

• Add +1 point for each out recorded
• Add +2 for each inning completed after the 4th.
• Add +1 for each strikeout.
• Subtract -2 for each hit allowed.
• Subtract -4 for each earned run allowed.
• Subtract -2 for each unearned run allowed.
• Subtract -1 for each walk.

When you go through a high school game, a 21-strikeout perfect game would score a 98. Most scores would hover right around 50, but for this segment, we are going to try and only use the Top 10 best starts. This isn’t to say that they are the only quality pitching performances, there was plenty of those, this is just a look at the most elite appearances this season. Now to note, there is a little flaw that if a team 10-runs another, it can be hard to score a lot more points. This means that the top scores need to go the distance, so most of the games aren’t complete blowouts. But on the other hand, this means that most of these performances were in competitive games. The system isn’t perfect, but it gives us a pretty good list to discuss.

Now, let’s begin…

#1

90- Lincoln Kienholz vs Harrisburg, May 2nd

Harrisburg 1, Pierre 0

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
7	0	0	0	3	16

The only 90 point score from Class A, Kienholz prevented the most powerful offense in the state from even scoring a run under his watch. The Governors would fall in the 9th inning on a Tyman Long home run, but that does not overshadow the fact this was an incredible performance by one of the top athletes in the state.

#2

86- Joe Gokie vs Huron, April 9th

Yankton 2, Huron 1

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
8.2	4	1	1	0	14

The longest outing of the year by any starting pitcher, Gokie nearly pitched an extra-innings complete game, which is a rarity in the pitch count era. The Mount Marty commit finished with an impressive 14 strikeouts, while reliever Drew Ryken finished the game with another 2 punch outs in 1.1 innings.

#3

84- Jonah Schmidt vs Stevens, May 1st

Mitchell 10, Stevens 0

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
6	0	0	0	1	13

Schmidt was just one of 3 performances to reach the list in less than 7 innings. That is in thanks to his 13 strikeouts, while nearly completing a perfect game. The star pitcher gave up just 3 base runners in the game, earning the first victory in a doubleheader sweep.

#3

84- Ian Scherbring vs Huron, May 16th

O’Gorman 5, Huron 0

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
7	1	0	0	0	9

The Knights may have not had one of their best seasons, but Scherbring provided a bright spot with an excellent performance against Huron. Pitching in game 2 of the late season double header, he nearly completed the no-hitter, giving up a single with 2 outs to go in the game. The Knights also let on another runner via error, but Scherbring held the Tigers at bay with 9 strikeouts.

#5

82- Ben Irsfeld vs Yankton, May 10th

Roosevelt 2, Yankton 0

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
7	2	0	0	1	10

All 3 times that Roosevelt played Yankton, pitching proved to be the key factor in the Rough Riders victory. This time, Irsfeld totaled double digit strikeouts while limiting the Bucks to just 3 base runners in the win.

#6

80- Lincoln Kienholz vs Huron, April 26th

Pierre 10, Huron 0

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
6	2	0	0	1	13

Another great performance from Kienholz, the junior foreshadowed his outing against Harrisburg in a late April start versus Huron. He finished with over 2 strikeouts an inning, and gave up just 3 base runners in the blowout win.

#6

80- Jake Helleloid vs Brookings, May 6th

Mitchell 3, Brookings 1

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
7	3	1	0	1	12

Mitchell had arguably one of the best 1-2 punches in the state with Schmidt and Helleloid, highlighted here by in this tough victory. He held the Bobcats to just 1 unearned run in a complete game effort, and 3 runs by the Kernels was more than enough for the victory.

#6

80- Jake Ammann vs Huron, May 15th

Brookings 7, Huron 0

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
7	3	0	0	2	11

This time, it was Brookings doing the damage, as Jake Ammann kept the Tiger bats quiet with 11 strikeouts in the win.

#9

79- Mason Davis vs Yankton, April 9th

Yankton 2, Huron 1

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
8	3	1	0	0	5

While Joe Gokie went 8 2/3 innings for the Bucks, Mason Davis answered 8 innings of his own in possibly the Class A pitcher duel of the year. It was a brilliant effort by both starters, and the most combined innings between 2 pitchers in a Class A game this season.

#10

78- Landon Loecker vs O’Gorman, April 4th

Yankton 10, O’Gorman 0

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
6	0	0	0	1	7

Another Yankton performance, this time Landon Loecker gets the shoutout. In the second half of a doubleheader, and just the 4th game of the season for the Bucks, Loecker completed the no-hitter, with only a 2-out, 3-2 walk preventing him from perfection.

70+ Performances

Jake Ammann (77 vs Jefferson)…Jett Zabel (77 vs O’Gorman)…Jake Wheeler (77 vs Lincoln)…Trey Heckenlaible (76 vs Harrisburg)…Josh Devine (76 vs Harrisburg)…Lincoln Kienholz (75 vs Brookings)…Kyler Miritello (74 vs RC Central)…Maddux Scherer (73 vs Yankton)…Ben Irsfeld (73 vs Yankton)…Jake Wheeler (73 vs Douglas)…Nathan Lease (72 vs Huron)…Joe Gokie (72 vs Pierre)…Landon Waddell (71 vs Yankton)…Maddox Plack (71 vs Huron)…Jackson Geerts (71 vs O’Gorman)…Lincoln Vasgaard (71 vs Stevens)…Loegen Lindner (70 vs Douglas).

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ALL-STATE

1ST TEAM

• Ben Irsfeld, Roosevelt (POY)
• Bryce Ronken, Washington
• Cael Swanson, Washington
• Jack Radel, Roosevelt
• Jack Sutton, Harrisburg
• Jake Ammann, Brookings
• Jake Helleloid, Mitchell
• Jonah Schmidt, Mitchell
• Lincoln Kienholz, Pierre
• Marcus Phillips, Roosevelt
• Matthew Brown, Brandon Valley
• Trey Sejnoha, Brandon Valley
• Tyman Long, Harrisburg

2ND TEAM

• Aiden Zerr, Brandon Valley
• Ayden Spicer, Brandon Valley
• Colton Nesland, Stevens
• Dylan Soulek, Mitchell
• Jace Larson, Mitchell
• Jake Wheeler, O’Gorman
• Jamie Legg, Roosevelt
• Joe Gokie, Yankton
• Landon Waddell, Mitchell
• Lucas Kampshoff, Yankton
• Mason Tolrud, Lincoln
• Nathan Lease, Brookings
• Ridge Infoher, Sturgis
• Taylor Klein, Harrisburg

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STANDINGS/PLAYOFFS

1. Roosevelt 17-1
2. Brandon Valley 13-3
3. Brookings 17-7
4. Mitchell 15-7
5. Harrisburg 14-10
6. Washington 10-10
7. Lincoln 9-9
8. Pierre 14-12
9. Yankton 12-10
10. Stevens 9-14
11. O’Gorman 7-13
12. Sturgis 11-9
13. Jefferson 6-18
14. Huron 6-11
15. RC Central 4-17
16. Douglas 0-13

SIOUX FALLS

• Yankton 7, Pierre 1
• Roosevelt 2, Yankton 1

MITCHELL

• Mitchell 5, Jefferson 3
• Harrisburg 4, Sturgis 3
• Mitchell 6, Harrisburg 2

BRANDON

• Brandon Valley 12, RC Central 2
• Lincoln 3, Stevens 1
• Lincoln 8, Brandon Valley 3

BROOKINGS

• Brookings 8, Huron 2
• Washington 5, O’Gorman 3
• Washington 6, Brookings 4