The Britton Lumberjacks lost an extra-inning 9-8 heartbreaker to Selby in the championship game of the state VFW Varsity Bravo Division Baseball Tournament held in Britton last weekend.
The local nine went 3-0 in pool play with wins over Wessington Springs 12-0, Tri-County 7-6, and Gregory 4-2 to earn the number one seed. Britton earned its championship berth with a 4-3 victory over Baltic in bracket play.
The Jacks, now 18-6, opened play in the Region 6 Legion tournament in Webster yesterday (Tuesday) against Webster. Regional play continues today (Wednesday) and Thursday
“I’m incredibly proud of this team and the way they represented our community in earning the state tournament runner-up finish,” said Jacks’ coach BJ Richter. “This group has grown tremendously over the past few years, and especially since last season. They’ve learned to play for one another. They’re competitive, but they also bring joy to the game. They want to succeed, but more importantly, they want success for each other.
“They’ve treated one another well, trusted the process, and continued to believe in what we were building,” added Richter. “That commitment and selflessness has made this a special season.
“I also want to thank our community for the outstanding support throughout the year and especially during the state tournament. The atmosphere was electric and seeing so many people behind us meant a great deal not only to our coaches and players but to the other tournament teams as well. It was an event.”
Selby 9
Britton 8
Selby pushed across three runs in the seventh inning to knot the contest at 6-6 and force extra innings and then added three more in the eighth to get the win.
Selby scored in the opening inning but Britton answered in the bottom of the frame to make it 1-1 and then exploded for four runs in the third to grab a 5-1 advantage. Selby cut the margin to 5-3 in the fifth and Britton scored once for a 6-3 margin. Neither team scored in the sixth to set up Selby’s late rally. Selby appeared to take a 7-6 lead in the seventh but a runner left third early on a fly ball for the third out.
Britton failed to score in the bottom of the seventh and Selby appeared to take charge with another three-run outburst in the eighth. But with two outs Britton rallied with a pair of runs and had the tying run on second to make things exciting.
Chaz Vietor doubled and singled and Mitchell Burger added a pair of safeties and two RBI’s. Max Suther doubled, Lincoln Kilker singled and knocked in two runs, and Ben Suther, Colton Chapin, and Lofton Heer singled.
Britton 4
Baltic 3
Baltic led 3-0 after two innings but Britton came up with two-run innings in the third and fifth to get the win.
Ben Suther had a pair of singles, Heer doubled, and Chapin singled for
Britton, which was out-hit by Baltic 6-4. Ben Suther earned the pitching win, fanning 11 batters in five innings, and Kaden Mills pitched two innings of hitless relief, striking out three.
Britton 12
Wessington Springs 0
Britton jumped out to an 11-0 lead after two innings and cruised past Wessington Springs in the opening game of pool play.
Ben Suther doubled and singled and Max Suther laced two singles to lead Britton’s eight-hit attack. Kilker doubled, Will Richter singled and had four RBI’s, and Burger and Chapin singled.
Vietor started on the mound and allowed just two hits while fanning four in two and two-thirds innings. Emmett Symens pitched the final inning and a third and didn’t allow a hit.
Britton 7
Tri-County 6
Britton scored four in the first inning and led 7-2 in the third before Tri-
County rallied with four runs in the bottom of the third inning for the final 7-6 margin in the four-inning affair.
The local nine was out-hit 9-8 but played errorless ball in the field. Ben Suther, Richter, and Jack Teveldal each laced a pair of singles, and Dylan Redler and Max Suther rapped safeties. Burger started on the mound and earned the win with relief help from Heitmann and Mills.
Britton 4
Gregory 2
Britton scored four runs in the final inning to erase a 2-0 deficit and get past Gregory.
Ben Suther, Burger, Richter, Teveldal, Vietor, Max Suther, and Heitmann each singled. Redler started on the mound and allowed just two hits in three and a third innings, striking out three. Symens and Mills came on in relief, and the local nine played errorless ball in the field.
FOR FULL STATS, SEE THIS WEEK'S JOURNAL.
