RAPID CITY The Brookings Chutes finished as runner-up in the Junior Legion State Tournament in Rapid City over the weekend.
After losing their first game of the tournament on Thursday night, the Chutes rattled off three-straight wins to advance to the championship game. On Friday, Brookings beat Rapid City Post 320 4-1 and then the Chutes ended pool play with a 10-6 win over Brandon Valley on Saturday to earn a spot in the semifinals. In the semifinals, Brookings beat Renner 7-3 on Sunday before falling to Rapid City Post 22 3-0 in the championship later in the day.
Brookings finished with a 25-15 record.
Friday
Brookings 4, Rapid City Post 320 1
Brookings broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fifth inning and kept Rapid City off of the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Post 320 scored its lone run of the game in the top of the first. The Shooters had a batter walk with one out and then he scored on a single to make it 1-0.
Brookings tied the game in the bottom of the first. Dixon Dauer led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Andrew Heinze. Connor Jones walked as well and Parker Witte hit a single to load the bases. Jude Meendering was then walked to score Dauer and that made it 1-1.
Nolan Krogman hit a lead-off single in the bottom of the fifth and Noah Lease followed with a walk. Baker Hanson was then walked to load the bases with one out and Krogman scored on a Dauer fielders choice to make it 2-1.
Brookings extended the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth. Tate Sonnenburg led off with a walk. Each runner advanced on a ground out from Krogman and then Lease hit both runners home with a single to make it a three-run game heading into the final half inning.
Lease was on the mound for the Chutes in the top of the seventh and he struck out all three batters. He pitched all seven innings and gave up one earned run on two hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.
Brookings had seven hits. Lease was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and Meendering was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Witte was 2-for-3 and Krogman was 2-for-4. Hanson was 1-for-1 and Dauer had an RBI without a hit.
Saturday
Brookings 10, Brandon Valley 6
Brookings led 10-3 through five innings and staved off a comeback attempt from Brandon Valley in the seventh inning.
The Chutes led 3-0 after the first inning. Krogman hit a one-out double and Lease and Ben Schulte followed with walks to load the bases up. Hanson then hit Krogman and Lease home with a double to make it 2-0. Mason Diers hit Schulte home with a single to push the lead to 3-0.
Brandon Valley cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the third. Two walks and a batter getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases up. Then two sacrifice flies made it a one-run game.
The Chutes would extend the lead to 7-2 in the bottom of the third. Krogman reached on an error to begin the inning and Lease and Schulte hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with no outs. Hanson was hit by a pitch and Dauer and Sonnenburg each walked to make it 6-2. Witte then hit Hanson home with a single to make it a five-run game.
Brandon Valley hit a lead-off double in the top of the fifth and then a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases. The runner on third then scored on a passed ball to make it 7-3.
Brookings scored three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Witte hit a two-out single and Meendering followed with a walk. Both runners scored on a triple from Krogman and then he scored on a Lease single to make it 10-3.
A hit batter and a single put two runners on for Brandon Valley with no outs in the top of the seventh. Each runner scored on a single to make it 10-5 and then another runner came home on an error to cut the lead to 10-6. There were two runners on with two outs but Hanson forced the batter to ground out to end the game.
Brookings had 12 hits. Hanson was 1-for-2 with three RBIs and Krogman was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Witte was 3-for-4 with an RBI and Lease was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Dauer was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Diers was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Schulte was 1-for-2 and Sonnenburg had an RBI without a hit.
Heinze started the game on the mound for the Chutes and he pitched four innings. He gave up three runs, two earned, on two hits with four strikeouts and five walks. Diers pitched two innings and gave up no runs and no hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Sutton Schneider got the first two outs of the seventh inning and gave up three runs, two earned, on three hits with one walk and no strikeouts. Hanson got the final out of the game and did not give up a hit.
Sunday
Brookings 7, Renner 2
Brookings led 3-2 after the first inning and didnt look back in the semifinals.
Krogman walked with one out in the top of the first and Lease followed with a single. Schulte then came to the plate next and he hit the ball to center field and rounded the bases for a three-run inside the park home run.
Renner hit a one-out single in the bottom of the inning and that runner scored on a double. Then a run from an error cut the lead to 3-2.
Brookings got one run back in the top of the second. Witte, Meendering and Krogman all walked to load the bases up with no outs. Witte then scored on a sacrifice fly from Schulte to make it 4-2.
The Chutes extended the lead to 6-2 in the top of the fourth. Lease hit a one-out single and then Hanson and Diers walked with two outs to load the bases. Dauer then came to the plate and hit Hanson and Lease home with a single to make it a four-run game.
Hanson hit a one-out single in the top of the sixth and advanced to second on an error. He then scored on a different error to make it 7-2 and that would be the final.
Brookings had eight hits in the win. Schulte was 1-for-3 with four RBIs and Dauer was 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Hanson was 2-for-3 and Diers and Witte were each 1-for-3. Lease was 2-for-4.
Hanson pitched a complete game for the Chutes. He gave up two runs, one earned, on eight hits with six strikeouts and one walk.
Rapid City Post 22 3, Brookings 0
Rapid City scored one run in each of the first three innings and kept Brookings off of the scoreboard the entire game.
The first Expos batter of the bottom of the first inning was hit by a pitch and the next batter reached on an error. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt but then the runner on third was thrown out trying to advance to home. A two-out single then sent home a run to make it 1-0.
In the bottom of the second the lead off batter hit a single. That runner then eventually scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.
In the bottom of the third the first batter was hit by a pitch. He then stole second and scored on a single to push the lead to 3-0.
Neither team scored the rest of the way.
The two teams combined for five hits and Brookings had two. Hanson was 1-for-2 and Meendering was 1-for-3.
Diers pitched a complete game. He gave up three runs, one earned, on three hits with three strikeouts and four walks.
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