A look at the 2023 Class B amateur baseball tournament round of 16

Aug. 6—MITCHELL — After 16 games in five days, the first round gives way to the round of 16 starting Sunday night at the Class B state amateur baseball tournament.

And over four more nights of action, the field gets cut in half again — down to eight teams by Wednesday night's end.

Here's a look at all eight second-round contests to decide the 2023 quarterfinalists:

5:30 p.m. Sunday

How Lennox advanced: After a slow start, Lennox surged to a 12-3 victory over Milbank in the opening game of the state tournament. The Alpacas got contributions from up and down the lineup, as nine players registered a hit and JD Kirchner earned the pitching win with a 6 1/3-inning relief effort.

How Lake Norden advanced: The first shoutout of the tournament belonged to District 1B champion Lake Norden, which squeaked out a 1-0 win in a gritty pitcher's duel against Flandreau. The Lakers' Jordon Johnson and Nicolai Arbach combined on the mound to shut out the Cardinals.

What to know: Both sides faced an opponent from the others' league in the first round, leading to another Cornbelt League (Lennox) versus Eastern Dakota League (Lake Norden) contest to decide the first quarterfinalist in this year's tournament field. It'll be the fifth meeting between the two leagues in the tournament, with the first four tilting 3-1 in favor of the Cornbelt.

Lennox made a run to the semifinals in 2022 and is looking to make it back-to-back quarterfinal appearances.

Lake Norden was in position to advance through the round of 16 a year ago but had a ninth-inning lead disappear in a walk-off loss.

7:30 p.m. Sunday

How Tabor advanced: Three runs in the first inning set the tone for Tabor, which never looked back in an 8-1 defeat of Akron (Iowa). Chase Kortan put forth the winning effort on the mound, pitching a complete game, while the Bluebirds' offense churned out 15 hits.

How Dell Rapids advanced: A sluggish start gave way to an offensive onslaught for the two-time defending state champions, who ran away with a 12-2 run-rule victory over Lennox/Chancellor/Worthing. At the bottom of the order, Carter Gullikson, Spencer Freudenthal and Grant Olson combined for seven runs batted in, four runs, three hits and eight walks drawn.

What to know: For just the second time during their quest for a championship three-peat, the Mudcats meet up with a South Central League opponent.

In the lone meeting between the two leagues in this year's tournament, the SCL emerged victorious. However, the Cornbelt won all three meetings in last year's tournament.

While the Mudcats will be playing their 12th tournament game in three years, Tabor is making its first second-round appearance since 2019.

5:30 p.m. Monday

How Winner/Colome advanced: Notching its eighth first-round win in the past nine tournaments, Winner/Colome blanked Plankinton 9-0. Derek Graesser had three hits and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Pheasants' offense, while Connor Hopkins pitched six shutout innings.

How Mount Vernon advanced: Tied 5-all after six innings, Mount Vernon exploded for 12 more runs to defeat District 3B champion Four Corners 17-6 by the run rule. Powering the offensive outburst, Spencer Neugebauer tallied four extra-base hits and four RBIs, while Chase Hetland added three hits and three RBIs.

What to know: Six came in, but now the Pheasants and Mustangs represent two of the three Sunshine League teams left standing after the first round. The other league representative remaining is Dimock/Emery.

When the two sides met during the regular season, Winner/Colome had the decisive upper hand, never trailing in either contest en route to wins of 12-2 and 6-3.

Both teams were quarterfinalists a year ago, and the Pheasants are looking to extend a streak of four-straight trips to the semifinals.

7:30 p.m. Monday

How Lesterville advanced: After taking the lead in the fifth inning, Lesterville held off a late rally attempt in a 5-4 win over Platte. Alex Wagner earned the pitching win with 13 strikeouts across 8 2/3 innings, as Tanner Van Driel went 4-for-5 and Michael Drotzmann had two RBIs.

How Menno advanced: Waiting until the seventh inning to turn on the offense, Menno surged to seven late runs in an 8-3 come-from-behind defeat of Northville. Peyton Weisler led the Mad Frogs with two hits and three RBIs, while Macon Oplinger pitched a complete game.

What to know: The South Central League, which had its tournament qualifiers go 4-0 in the first round, takes center stage with this round of 16 matchup, as the SCL is guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals.

During the regular season, the pair of meetings between the two sides took on very different looks, though Lesterville won both by scores of 2-1 and 19-8.

The Broncs are in the second round for the third time since 2013, but have failed to advance past this stage on all three occasions. Meanwhile, the Mad Frogs have similar recent tournament experiences, making four second-round trips since 2015 with no quarterfinal appearances.

5:30 p.m. Tuesday

How Canova advanced: In the most comfortable winning margin of the first round, Canova racked up multiple runs in three of seven innings and cruised to a 14-0 defeat of Elkton. Justin Miller had three hits and three RBIs for the Gang, while Derek Miller maintained the shutout on the mound.

How Clark advanced: In one of the biggest tournament upsets in recent memory, Clark held down perennial powerhouse Alexandria in a 3-1 victory that snapped a 12-game first-round win streak for the Angels. Wes Jones limited Alexandria to three hits in a complete game display on the mound.

What to know: Both teams enter the second round occupying similar roles to their first-round contests. Canova, another amateur baseball blueblood, will be expected to dispatch of underdog Clark, who gets another opportunity to send shockwaves through the tournament.

Canova hasn't won multiple games at the state tournament since finishing as runner-up in 2020, but the 2018 champions and 2019 semifinalists aren't short on experience at this stage of the competition.

Back in the second round for the first time since 2020, Clark last advanced to through to the quarterfinals in 2019.

7:30 p.m. Tuesday

How Larchwood advanced: Six runs in the first inning set the tone for Larchwood's 10-0 run-rule win over Wessington Spring in the first round, as the Diamonds persisted through a pair of rain delays. Brent Ripperda recorded four hits and two RBIs to pace the Diamonds' offensive push.

How Crofton advanced: After claiming the District 6B championship as the No. 5 seed, Crofton picked up where it left off, taking out the Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks 6-3 to extend their season once again. Zach Hegge helped guide the Bluejays to the win, pitching a complete game and not allowing a hit in six of nine innings.

What to know: At least one team from outside South Dakota will be among the final eight, as the last two (of three) out-of-state qualifiers go head-to-head, representing Iowa (Larchwood) and Nebraska (Crofton).

Larchwood is back in the round of 16 for the 11th time since 2011. The Diamonds made one run to the state title game and were semifinalists on two more occasions during that stretch, though they've been to the quarterfinal round once (2021) since 2017. Crofton last made the quarterfinals in 2017 and was a semifinalist the year before that.

5:30 p.m. Wednesday

How Dimock/Emery advanced: Two runs proved to be enough for Dimock/Emery to move through the first round, though the Raptors got all they could handle from Miller/Wessington in a 2-0 win. Josh Enquist's complete game effort on the mound led the way.

How Kimball/White Lake advanced: A commanding performance on the mound from Zak Wallner paved the way for Kimball/White Lake to take a 4-0 win off of District 7B champion Elk Point. Wallner finished the contest with 10 strikeouts while allowing four hits and one walk in a complete game outing that featured 111 pitches.

What to know: In a clash of two teams that were both quarterfinalists in 2022 and 2021, one side's hopes of a third-straight trip to the final eight will come up a step short.

The Sunshine League and the Pony Hills League are no strangers to each other in tournament play, as Sunshine programs are already 2-0 against Pony Hills opposition in 2023. After the first round, the Nationals are the lone Pony Hills team remaining in the field.

7:30 p.m. Wednesday

How Dell Rapids advanced: Five runs in the seventh inning carried the day for Dell Rapids PBR in a 6-2 defeat of the Parkston Mudcats. Six walks issued from Mudcats pitchers to PBR batters in the seventh inning aided the effort, while Weston Hansen drove in two runs and Legion pick-up Brayden Pankonen had three hits and scored twice.

How Madison advanced: Coming out on top of a back-and-forth contest, Madison broke a deadlock in the ninth inning to take a 7-6 win over District 1B runner-up Volga. Trey Smith provided the game-winning RBI for the Broncos, who got four hits from Heith Williams to go with three hits, two RBIs, two runs and a pitching win in relief from Aspen Dahl.

What to know: Though it's one of the most storied programs in South Dakota amateur baseball history, PBR hasn't been past the second round since 2013 with two second-round appearances since then. Both Dell Rapids squads won their first-round games for the first time since 2020.

With Madison and Dell Rapids PBR's wins on Sunday afternoon, the Cornbelt had five of its seven qualifiers survive the first round.