Expos escape Districts with State Tny. berth

LESTERVILLE - Wynot and Crofton faced off for the third time this season, and the bats came alive. Crofton hit five home runs, Wynot had three, as Crofton sealed a State Tournament berth with a 20-11 win in the District 6B Tournament.

All but one of Crofton’s home runs were solo shots, with the exception coming from a Scot Donner grad slam. Wynot hit two solo shots with a three run homer by Jalen Wieseler.

“I think it was a battle. It gets to Districts time and everyone is 0-0 and we go after each other,” said manager and player Lee Heimes. “They seemed to hit the ball a few more times than we did and had some deep shots on us.”

It was a hard day on the mound for both sides. Capp Bengston started on the mound for Hartington, but was pulled after allowing four runs in two innings. Scott Morrison started for Wynot and was also pulled early after allowing four runs in one and a third innings.

The job did not get much easier for relievers, as hitters took advantage of the small baseball field in Lesterville. With measurements of 277 feet to right field, 300 to left field, and 350 to center, it was deemed a hitters ballpark and the batters exemplified it.

Even with the loss, Wynot’s State Tournament hopes remained alive, as they played Freeman on Saturday for the final State Tny. berth out of District 6B. Heimes compared the game to a boxing strategy for what Wynot needs to do to earn the win.

We just have to keep having quality at bats and keep the pitcher on the ropes,” said Heimes. “We had a couple of chances with runners on base where we could have gotten a few more runs in.”

Wynot has already played Freeman once during Districts, starting the tournament with a 10-1 win over the seven seed on July 20.

Crofton 2 3 2 1 7 2 0 0 3 20 21 1

Wynot 0 4 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 11 14 3

LESTERVILLE - The Expos are heading to State. 

With a 9-0 win over Freeman on Saturday, the Expos clinched the final seed coming out of District 6B, and the season stays alive heading into the Class B South Dakota State Tournament. 

Wynot pitcher Jackson Sudbeck pitched a complete game shutout, allowing seven hits while striking out six. The pitcher threw a gem, but also contributed at the plate, batting 1-4 with a double that he came around to score on in the first inning.

Sudbeck scored the second run of that first inning, giving Wynot a 2-0 lead. The Expos would expand on that lead, but would never give it up en route to victory.

This win sends Wynot back to the South Dakota Class B State Tournament. The team missed State last year, but now have a chance at redemption. 

Wynot will begin their run at a state title on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Sioux Falls when the Expos take on Madison at Augustana University’s baseball field.

Freeman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 5

Wynot 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 x 9 7 0

Batting

Wynot - Cody Stratman, 0-5, 1 R, 3 K, 1 SB; Don Whitmire, 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HBP; Jackson Sudbeck, 1-4, 1 R; Lee Heimes, 0-3, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SB; Chase Rolfes, 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 SB; Jalen Wieseler, 1-4, 1 R, 1 K; Devon Lammers, 1-4; Scott Morrison, 2-4, 2 RBI; Dawson Sudbeck, 0-4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB.