Day 8: 2025 South Dakota State Amateur Baseball Tournament
Jill Meier/BV Journal
Canova's Jared Miller fires a pitch in Thursday's state tourney game against Alexandria. The Angels came away with the 3-2 victory. The Class B State Amateur Baseball Tournament continues at First National Bank Field in Aspen Park through Sunday. The Class A teams join the season-ending action today, which includes two games at Legion Park in Valley Springs. For daily tournament game recaps and photos, check out brandonvalleyjournal.com.
Alexandria Angels 3, Canova Gang 2 - After a come-from-behind win in their second round game over Parkston, the Alexandria Angels backed it up with another late inning comeback in the quarterfinals.
Trailing 1-0 in the eighth, the Angels scored three times and held on for the 3-2 win. Pierce Smith’s two-run single scored Reid Smith and Jordan Gau to break a 1-1 tie.
Canova answered in the bottom of the eighth when they loaded the bases with just one out. But the Angels were able to escape without giving up the lead.
The Gang also put two runners on in the bottom of the ninth but failed to score to tie or win.
The win is Alexandria’s 11th straight as the Angels haven’t lost since June 29. Against Canova, the Angels managed seven hits with just one double by Tyson Gau. Alexandria pitcher Alex Ferrin pitched all nine innings for the win, striking out four while giving up eight hits.
For Canova, Jared Miller was 3-for-4 from the plate. He and Derek Miller each registered an RBI in the loss. Jared Miller also pitched 7.2 innings, striking out 12.
Next up for Alexandria is a semifinal matchup with Kimball/White Lake on Saturday at 5:30.
Parkston Rays 6, Kimball/White Lake Nationals 1
Parkston pitcher Phil Johnson pitched a complete game and struck out eight as the Rays advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1 win over Kimball/White Lake.
Johnson gave up just five hits and walked two as Parkston won for the seventh time in eight tries. The Rays’ last loss came on July 27 at Alexandria, their next opponent in the Class B semifinals on Saturday at 5:30.
A Seth Muth single in the third proved to be the game winner for Parkston, as he singled to score Tanner Dyk for a 2-0 lead. The Rays added four more runs in the sixth to put things away behind a pair of singles from Carter Sommer and Ty Neugebauer.
Muth and Sommer each finished with three hits to lead Parkston in the win.
For Kimball/White Lake, the loss is their first since June 24. The Nationals had won 11 straight.
Cooper Leiferman had a double for the Nationals, their only extra base hit of the game. Mitch Price struck out 11 Parkston batters in 5.2 innings but picked up the loss, giving up nine hits and two earned runs.
