YANKTON – The Aberdeen Smittys had their season come to a close Wednesday afternoon in an 8-2 setback against the Renner Royals during the State A American Legion Baseball Tournament.
“Tough way to end the season,” said Smittys coach Brandon Kusler. “Can’t express how proud I am of this group of guys. Unfortunately, we came up short, but this group battled til the very end.”
A case in point was Aberdeen’s final innings in the contest. The Smittys scored a run in the sixth when Phillip Zens doubled and later scored on an Ethan Kjenstad ground out. Aberdeen also threatened in the top of the seventh when it loaded the bases, but was unable to reduced Harrisburg’s large lead any further.
While Zens put the Smittys in front with a solo home run in the second inning, the Smittys had a difficult time producing runs.
“Just struggled getting things going offensively today,” Kusler said. “Phil got us going with the solo shot in the second, but beyond that, Renner did a great job of silencing our bats. Their pitchers did a great job of keeping our guys off-balance and forcing a lot of week contact. When we did have chances to scratch a few more across, we were just missing that big hit.”
Meanwhile, the Royals got enough big hits to build a lead.
Trey Heckenlaible delivered a two-out RBI double to tie the game in the second, before Renner took control with a four-run third inning. Zach Dunham had a two-run double before scoring on a double by Leo Hueners. Another run came in on a passed ball.
Renner added three more runs in the fifth, as Hueners drove in another run on a single, and Heckenlaible knocked in a pair with another hit.
The Royals were robbed of another run when Drew Salfrank made a diving catch in centerfield in the bottom of the sixth.
“I thought we did a fine job on the mound attacking their hitters, but they did a great job of hitting a lot of balls hard and found more holes than we did,” Kusler said. “Bottom line, we just didn’t do enough offensively in this tournament to extend the season.”
Dunham had three hits to lead Renner, while Zens had a pair of hits to pace the Smittys. Zane Backous, who had four hits on Tuesday, found his way on base three more times against Renner with another hit and two walks.
The Smittys finished the year with a record of 27-18 and made it to the state tourney for the first time since 2017.
“Regardless of the tough result, I’m very proud of everything this group accomplished this season. Winning record, state tournament berth and a ton of big moments throughout this season,” Kusler said. “This team has raised the expectation of baseball in Aberdeen, and there a lot of people who are very proud of this team and organization.”
Throughout the season, the Smittys proved that they could compete against any team in the state, owning wins over most of the elite programs.
“The resiliency of this team is what I’ll remember most,” Kusler said. “All year long, this group responded to adversity, battled through injuries, and found a way to win a lot of tough games. I’m forever grateful to be able to have coached this group.”
Aberdeen Smittys 010 001 0 – 2 6 3
Renner Royals 014 030 x – 8 9 0
Jaiden Smith, Cooper Eisenbeisz (4), Phillip Zens (5) and Andrew Ristau-Richardson; Jake Wheeler, Jacob Sanderson (5), Charlie Heuners (7) and Jacob Docter. 2B – Aberdeen Smittys, Zens; Renner Royals, Trey Heckenlaible, Zach Dunham 2, Leo Hueners. HR – Aberdeen Smittys, Zens.
