The Britton grade 7-9 Lumberjacks baseball squad placed second in the VFW Tournament of Champions played at the Sanford Sports Baseball Complex in Sioux Falls on Saturday.
The local nine earned its spot in the four-team tournament by winning the VFW Charlie Division state championship in Webster on July 28. Top-seeded Britton derailed fourth seed Baltic 12-2 in four innings in first round play and fell to third-seed Tri-Valley 6-1 in the title affair to wrap up its season.
“I’m so happy and proud of our guys this weekend,” said Lumberjacaks coach BJ Richter. “It was a tremendous honor and opportunity to take part in the first ever tournament of champions. We shared our opening ceremonies with a national Amputee Baseball Team from Louisville, KY, of which, there were two purple heart recipients. That was quite a moment.
“I often say; all you can hope for is to be in the best game possible at the end of the year. We managed to do exactly that this year. The VFW started with 24 or so teams and we were one of the last two standing. We are awfully proud and grateful for that experience.”
Britton 12
Baltic 2
Britton took control early with three runs in the first inning and four more in the second and put the game away with a five-run outburst in the fourth.
The Jacks out-hit Baltic 11-1, led by Liam Peters with a double and single and Luke Bosse’s two singles. Max Suther added a double and two RBI’s, Henry Kilker singled and knocked in a pair of runs, and Levi Mills, Drew Heitmann, Isaac Richter, Blayden Downs, and Joseph O’Brien all had base hits.
Drew Heitmann started on the mound and went three innings, fanning four. Mills pitched an inning of relief and struck out two.
Tri-Valley 6
Britton 1
Tri-Valley scored five runs in the last three innings of the seven-inning championship contest to get past Britton.
Britton scored a run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 3-1 but was not able to score again. Three Tri-Valley pitchers struck out 10 Britton batters and the eventual champs took advantage of five errors.
Kilker laced a pair of singles and Suther and Heitmann rapped safeties for Britton’s four hits. Peters went f our and two-thirds innings on the mound and Mills came on in relief.
