Milbank Firechiefs Advance in State Baseball Tournament

The Milbank Firechiefs defeated the Platte Killer Tomatoes by a score of 8-4 in the first round of the 2021 South Dakota Amateur Baseball State Tournament. The game took place on Wednesday, August 4, in Mitchell. 

Justin Larson started on the mound for Milbank. After a quick 1-2-3 top of the inning, the Firechiefs came up to bat in the bottom of the first. Brady Krause got things rolling with a one-out single to centerfield, and Mitch Quade followed with a line-drive single. Lance Frogner loaded the bases in the next at-bat with a single to right field. Bryan Appl then drew a bases-loaded walk to send B. Krause home and put Milbank on the score board. 

Dom Boerger kept things going with a single to left field to knock in Quade and Frogner. The score sat at 3-0. Travis Lester singled down the right field line to bring Appl home and Boerger also scored during Platte’s failed attempt to throw out Lester who stole second base. The score then sat at 5-0. 

In the bottom of the third,  Frogner led with a double to right field. He moved up to third on a passed ball and scored when Boerger reached base on a fielder’s choice. It was Boerger’s third RBI of the night and it boosted Milbank’s total runs to six. 

Larson did his part. He fooled batters for four innings, but in the bottom of the fifth and sixth Platte managed to score four runs and edge back into the game.  

In the bottom of the sixth, Jonny Ash singled by sending a bunt down the third base line and then advanced courtesy of a throwing error by the third baseman. In the next at-bat, Ronnie Krause singled to right field to give Ash an opening and Ash took it and ran. Ash’s score increased Milbank’s lead to 7-4.  

In the eighth, Boerger singled to right field to get to first. Lester moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt on the next pitch. Boerger advanced to third when a ball got by the Killer Tomatoes’ catcher.  Ash grounded out to the shortstop, but Boerger still found a way to get to home plate on the play. The Firechiefs charred the Killer tomatoes 8-4 and chopped them from the second round of the tournament. The Firechiefs move on to face the Dimock-Emery Raptors who defeated the Castlewood Monarchs 4-3 to advance to the second round. 
The Firechiefs and Raptors face off on Sunday, August 8, at Cadwell Park in Mitchell at 5:30 p.m.