On Friday, July 26, the 14U Teeners of Wagner VFW Post 7319 traveled to Beresford to take part in the Class A state tournament.

The first game was played against Elk Point-Jefferson and it was a high scoring affair. Wagner, unfortunately, ended up on the short end of a 16-13 score. Each team collected 12 hits, but EPJ drew six walks and four hit batsmen while Wagner hitters only had one free pass.

Wagner was the home team in this one and held a 12-10 lead going into the 7th inning but three singles, a walk, and two hit batters would all come around to score to put things out of reach.

Dominic Doom went 3 for 4 with a double as he collected three RBI and scored three runs (which were actually scored by his courtesy runner, Connor Gabel). Javian Pesicka and Trasin Dilts each had two hits with Pesicka scoring four times and Dilts knocking in two runs. Edward Ulrich and Colton Zephier had one hit apiece and they each scored twice with Zephier collecting an RBI. Avery Medicine Bear drove in two runs on one hit. Steven Peters had a hit, an RBI, and two runs scored. Beau Otte had one hit.

Pesicka was the starting pitcher. He gave up nine runs, only three of which were earned, on seven hits while walking three, hitting one, and striking out four. Doom then relieved for 1.1 innings allowing one earned run on one hit with two walks and one strikeout. Edward Ulrich pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed four earned runs on three hits and two hit batsmen while notching one strikeout. Steven Peters would finish the game going 2/3 of an inning allowing two runs, one earned, on one hit and one walk while also getting one K.

This loss moved Wagner to the consolation bracket. They would match up against Tri-Valley with the winner moving on to the 5th place game and the loser going home.

We would use nine hits, eleven walks, and three hit batters to score 17 runs enroute to a 17-2 four inning victory. Edward Ulrich pitched the entire four innings. He got off to a shaky start, as four of the first five batters reached by either a walk or a hit by pitch. He would settle down to limit the damage, allowing only one run to score. He ultimately would give up the two runs on two hits with the three walks and one hit batter while striking out three.

Doom and Otte had the big bats of this game with each collecting two hits, three RBI and they each scored twice (Doom’s by Gabel). One of Otte’s hits was a two-run triple. Ulrich, Pesicka, Peters, Kingston Brunelle and Jacob Kotab each had a hit with Ulrich’s being a triple. Ulrich scored four runs while Pesicka and Peters each drove in two.

Milbank was the opponent on day three of the state tournament. It looked like Wagner would breeze to a fifth-place finish as we plated five runs in the first, one in the second, and three more in the third. At the end of three innings played Wagner held a comfortable 9-0 lead.

Milbank would not go down easily, however, as they answered with four in the fourth inning, three in the fifth, and two more in the sixth. Wagner did add an unearned run in the bottom of the 4th but other-wise our bats were all but silenced by the Milbank bullpen. This put the score at 10-9 heading into the final frame.

Milbank put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out to start the inning. Then Colton Zephier got a much needed strikeout before the last wild play of the game. The next batter hit a comebacker to Colton on the mound. He wisely ran at the runner who was caught between third and home. He was eventually put out in the rundown. The runner at second was also caught in a pickle but reached second base safely. But, the batter was also trying to advance to second and he is the one who made the final out giving us a wild 10-9 win.

Peters started on the mound and pitched very well for three plus innings until he began to tire. He allowed seven runs, three earned, on three hits while walking four and striking out eight. Doom started the sixth inning and got two outs while allowing two earned runs on one hit with two walks, two hit batters and one strikeout. Colton Zephier then came on to finish things off. He was put in a stressful situation as he came in with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth and notched a big strikeout. He went 1.1 innings with no runs allowed on two hits and two Ks.

Pesicka led the way at the plate with three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored. Peters and Doom each had two hits with an RBI and a run scored. Dilts had a double and a bases loaded triple. Otte had a hit and a run scored. Zephier walked twice and scored a run while Ulrich scored one run and had one RBI.

Most teams don’t get to end their season with a win so it was nice to end on a positive note even though it was a pretty stressful last few innings. These boys battled and earned two wins at the state tournament which is certainly something to be proud of. On behalf of coach Sam Metzger and myself we’d like to thank all the players and parents for being a part of the team and for all the help throughout. It was a fun season and we hope to see you back next year. Thanks also goes out to VFW Post 7319 who is always very supportive of all our efforts.