Larchwood builds big lead, knocks out Wessington Springs to open second round of Class B

Aug. 11 – MITCHELL – Three days of rest did little to help the Larchwood (Iowa) bats, who continued to perform very well Sunday in the Class B amateur baseball tournament.

After an 18-run burst in the first round, Larchwood scored in every inning to record its second run-rule victory in as many tournament games with a 16-6 seven-inning win over Wessington Springs in the second round at Cadwell Park.

Back in the quarterfinals for the second straight season and third time in four years, Larchwood (19-5) will play the winner of Sunday night’s second-round matchup between Dimock/Emery and Castlewood at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The Diamonds are riding a 12-game winning streak into that matchup.

Playing a Pony Hills League opponent for the second straight round, Larchwood picked up where it left off in the first round on Wednesday with an 18-3 win. It scored four runs in the first inning, two in the second and three in the third to give the team a 9-0 lead.

Facing the big early deficit, Trevor Kenobbie hit a solo shot over the left-field fence in the fourth inning to put the Owls on the board. But Larchwood continued to produce at the plate, answering with three runs in the bottom half of the frame and another in the fifth.

Springs came back with a four-run rally in the sixth, started by an infield single by pickup player Tom Stange, of Plankinton, to score Blake Larson. Kenobbie then came in to score on an RBI fielder’s choice groundout by Terrek Butterfield. But the biggest hit of the series was by Camden Jost, who hit a two-out, two-RBI single down the right-field line, flattening Butterfield and Isaac Kolousek to make it 13-5.

Although Larchwood added a run in the sixth inning, Springs appeared to continue its climb back into the game when Kenobbie doubled down the left-field line to score Larson and put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the seventh. However, Larchwood retired three batters in a row to eliminate the threat and promptly added a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to end the game early by the 10-run rule.

Eight Diamonds hitters had multiple hits in the game, led by three apiece from Keaton Grevengoed and Josh Van Beek, who also contributed three RBIs, as did Micah Linn. Isaac Horigan went four innings in a start, striking out three and allowing two hits, no walks and one run, but it was Korey McKenney who got credit for the win after recording five outs in relief.

Kenobbie finished with three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Larson added two hits, one walk and two runs scored to lead the Springs offense. Mason Schelske was hit with the pitching loss for the Owls, pitching 1 2/3 innings in his start, striking out one, giving up six hits, two walks and six runs (five earned). Wessington Springs’ season ended with a 12-6 record.