The 2021 Class “B” runners-up Flandreau Cardinals qualified for the 2022 South Dakota Amateur Baseball State Tournament with a win over Salem on Friday in Dell Rapids.
Flandreau will play the Menno Mad Frogs at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7 at in the second-to-last first round game at Cadwell Park in Mitchell.
DELL RAPIDS – Grant Hieb had three hits while Aiden Ladd homered and drove in three runs in the Cardinals 7-5 win.
Flandreau scored three runs in both the first and second inning to open a 6-2 lead.
Jacob Patterson, Mitch Foster, and Bret Severtson all had two hits for the Cardinals who enter the state tournament with a record of 15-7.
Jordan Gesling earned the win with seven strong innings on the mound, allowing two runs (zero earned) on four hits, walking four, and striking out six.
Severtson worked the final two innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits with three strikeouts.
DELL RAPIDS – Flandreau lost to the Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks, 8-4, in the semifinals of the District 4B Amateur Tournament on Tuesday night.
Fortunately for the Cardinals they’ll get another chance at punching their State tournament ticket on Friday at 6 p.m. when they take on the winner of Madison and Salem.
Six runs in the bottom of the fifth from the Gamecocks put them in front and they did not surrender a run the rest of the game. H/H scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on a ground out.
Flandreau then scored four runs in the top of the fifth to take the lead. Nate Kneebone singled to begin the inning and the Cardinals then loaded the bases after Jacob Patterson was hit by a pitch and Grant Hieb walked. Kneebone scored on a ground out and Patterson and Hieb then scored on a single from Brian McGuire. Bret Severtson then hit an RBI single to make it 4-1.
The lead didn’t last long for the Cardinals as the Gamecocks scored six runs in the bottom of the inning. The first two runs came off of a single. The next two were scored on a single and an error. A ground out made it 7-4 heading into the sixth.
H/H added one more run in the sixth and was able to hold Flandreau scoreless the rest of the game to get the win.
Dallas Schniederman started the game for Flandreau and pitched four and a third innings. He gave up seven runs, four earned, on five hits, with five walks and three strikeouts. Kasen Grengs pitched three and two thirds and gave up one earned run on three hits, with three strikeouts and one walk.
McGuire was 1-for-5 with two RBIs. Keith Cutler was 1-for-5 with an RBI and Severtson was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Kneebone was 3-for-4 and Hieb was 2-for-4.
