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The Wagner VFW Post 7319 16U Teener team traveled to North Sioux City to partake in the 2022 state tournament. The first round matched us up with the host team, Dakota Valley.

Carter Cournoyer would get the ball to start this tournament. After a scoreless 1st inning Dakota Valley’s lead-off hitter in the 2nd would single and advance to second on a groundout. With two outs a throwing error would allow the runner to cross the plate. This would be the only run Dakota Valley would score as Carter did a great job of keeping their hitters at bay and the defense behind him would do their jobs the rest of the way.

Offensively for Wagner there was not much to brag about, especially for the first six innings as we would get four walks and zero hits with a couple of batters reaching via an error. And while you can certainly score a run without the benefit of a hit, this was not the case for Wagner. At least not yet.

After Cournoyer breezed through the top of the 7th on five pitches it was do or die time. Carter would lead off the bottom of the final frame by getting hit by a pitch. Preston McFayden would then come on to pinch run. A wild pitch would advance him to second base with Hunter Loeffler at the bat. Hunter would rip a 2-2 pitch down the left field line which would have tied the game, but it hooked just foul. Hunter would eventually work a walk, putting the winning run on base with no outs. This would bring pinch hitter Frank Soukup to bat. Both runners would advance another base on a wild pitch and Soukup would eventually be given an intentional walk. Colby Krcil would come to the plate and lift a fly ball to right field. The right fielder would make the catch but would air mail the throw well over the catcher’s head allowing McFayden to score from third and the other two runners to advance. Javian Pesicka would be given an intentional walk and Carlin Hopkins would come up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. After working the count full he would watch a pitch sail safely below his knees and the winning run would score.

In the final inning Wagner would use a hit batter, four walks, and an error to secure their hitless victory and move on to the semifinals. McFayden and Loeffler would score the two Wagner runs with Hopkins getting Wagner’s lone RBI.

Cournoyer would get the complete game win as he allowed one unearned run on two hits while walking three, hitting one batter, and striking out seven.

The semifinal game would find Wagner facing off against Dell Rapids. After a scoreless 1st inning Carter Cournoyer would lead off with a hit by pitch to start the 2nd frame. Loeffler would then ground a ball between third and short for Wagner’s first hit of the tournament. Joey Cournoyer followed with a ground out to the pitcher putting runners at second and third with one out. Up next was Krcil who would hit a grounder to short which was botched for an error and loaded the bases. Pesicka would then come up and hit a fly ball between the center and right fielders who would collide, thus allowing Cournoyer and Loeffler to score while Krcil would advance to third and Pesicka to second. A wild pitch allowed Krcil to score and an errant throw back to the catcher allowed Pesicka to score by way of some heads-up base running.

The score would remain 4-0 in Wagner’s favor until the bottom of the sixth when Pesicka would drive in Krcil after he walked and stole second with two out. Dell Rapids would get a runner to third base in the top of the seventh but a ground out to second would end the game 5-0 sending Wagner to the championship game.

Ted Slaba was once again Mr. Efficient on the mound as it took him all of 68 pitches to earn the complete game shutout. He would keep Dells’ hitters off balance the entire game as he would give up only four hits while walking no one and striking out five. He was aided by some nearly flawless play in the field as the boys brought their A game defensively.

Javian Pesicka had the big bat as he collected two hits and drove in three runs. Krcil, Loeffler, Link, and Joey Cournoyer each had one hit with Link’s being a double.

In the championship game Wagner would play Tea for the 16U Class A state title. Wagner would win the coin toss and be the home team. Matt Link would get the nod as he pitched a scoreless first inning. Carda would then give Wagner an early lead as he hammered the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to give Wagner a 1-0 lead.

Tea would go down without scoring in the 2nd and 3rd innings as well as Link would face the minimum, though he would be aided by a caught stealing at third base in the 2nd as Loeffler would gun down the would-be tying run.

In the bottom half of the inning Link would be issued a walk and would steal second base. He would score on an RBI fielder’s choice by Carter Cournoyer.

Tea would threaten in the top of the 4th as they had men on 1st and 2nd with one out but a sharp grounder to third baseman Carda allowed him to touch his base and go to first for the inning ending double play. Wagner would tack on another run in the 4th as Krcil led off with a single, advanced to second on a Pesicka groundout and would score on a Daniel Soukup single to give Wagner a 3-0 lead.

The 5th inning is where things would get a bit rough for Wagner. After striking out the lead-off batter, a bloop single and a hit batter would get things rolling for Tea. The top three batters in the lineup would then all single and Tea would get four runs this inning to take the lead. Wagner tried to answer back in the bottom half of the inning but would leave runners on first and second without pushing a run across.

Both teams would add a run in the sixth inning to keep it a one run game. Wagner’s run came by way of a big pinch hit double by Brady Cournoyer that knocked in Pesicka who had earlier reached on a single. This was Brady’s only plate appearance of the tourney and he made it count. He came to bat in a tight spot and really came through.

It looked like Tea would open things up in the top of the 7th as they would triple to start the inning. This was followed by an infield single but a nice play by Carda at third would keep the runner from scoring. After a stolen base runners would be at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Pesicka, who came in to relieve Link in the 6th inning, would strike out the next batter. A couple of pitches later the man on third was caught trying to steal home for the second out and the final batter would ground out to second to end the inning. This really swung the momentum in Wagner’s favor.

Wagner had one chance left and Carda would lead off with a single to get things going. After a strikeout, Carter Cournoyer would walk., putting the winning run on base. Unfortunately, Wagner’s next two batters would both foul out, ending our quest to bring home the title.

Link would go 5.2 innings giving up five earned runs on seven hits, three walks, and three hit batters while striking out eight. Pesicka would pitch the final inning and a third, giving up no runs on two hits with one strikeout.

Wagner was led at the plate by Carda who had two hits including the home run. Slaba would also collect two hits as he would single twice. Carter and Brady Cournoyer, Loeffler, Krcil, Pesicka, and Daniel Soukup would each collect one hit with Carter, Brady, and Daniel all notching an RBI apiece.

Despite the fact that this final game didn’t have the outcome we were looking for, I know I speak for coach Sam Metzger and myself when I say that this run we went on was an awesome experience. We couldn’t be prouder of the way these boys played each and every game and brought enthusiasm and an energy that really made us proud to be their coaches.

A big thank you to all the Wagner parents and fans who made the trek to Dakota Valley to watch us play. Anyone who plays sports knows it’s always more fun to play in front of a crowd and I thought we had great support from the Wagner faithful. I know the boys appreciated your presence there as well.

One final note, Wagner would receive the Lou Thury Sportsmanship Award. That, I believe, shows how these boys conducted themselves throughout this state tournament and it was an award they truly deserved. Congratulations, boys, on a great season. We hope you had as much fun playing as Sam and I had coaching you.