The defending Class A state champions won in the opening round of the state tournament on Thursday at Players Softball Complex, however the top-seeded team did not.

West Central scored two late runs to turn back Beresford in its quest to defend the title, while top-seeded Madison dropped a 3-1 decision to Elk Point-Jefferson.

West Central broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” West Central coach Heather Harden said. “We just had to do the small things better, and in some places we did and they just worked through it.”

Beresford looked to be in prime position to break through in the top of the sixth after a double from Ivy Keiser, a single from Rylie Laurvick and a drawn walk by Harper Olsen left the bases loaded with one out.

But the Trojans were able to get out of the jam when they got a double play to end the inning

“We work on that in practice,” Harden said. “We put them in scenarios where they have to play hard, where they have to battle. So, it’s not a surprise when it happens in a game. You just have to chip away one pitch at a time, control the small things and leave it all out there.”

In the bottom half of the inning, the Trojans were able to flip the script, starting with a bunt single by Teagan Lupkes. Sophie Rolfson also bunted for a single, and Lupkes scored on an error, for the first run of the game. West Central added an insurance run when Briauna Hoff singled on a line drive to left and sent Rolfson home to make the score 2-0.

Harden talked about the strategy behind bunting in the bottom of the sixth.

“We knew runners were going to be scarce and we needed to get runners on base and start moving them around,” Harden said, “and that’s what we went with.”

Harden said the defensive stand in the top of the sixth was a big momentum swing for her team.

“Defense saved us,” Harden said. “They worked hard and the dugout came alive. Then we brought that momentum into hitting.”

In the top of the seventh, West Central and its eighth-grade pitcher Linzie Hoff were able to close out the Watchdogs with three consecutive outs, including Hoff’s ninth strikeout of the game.

Linzie Hoff talked about what it means to have such a strong performance in a big game.

“It’s great,” Hoff said. “I like the pressure and I like showing that I can play softball and that our team is really great. I think we also showed we’re here to win and we’re going to do it.”

The Trojans will now play Elk Point-Jefferson in the semifinals at 2 this afternoon.

“We’re not done yet,” Harden said. “We need to keep doing the small things better and just stay focused.”

West Central won a previous matchup against EPJ 15-3.

Linzie Hoff talked about the plan going in against the Huskies.

“We want to be patient in the box, see the pitches, be willing to put down bunts, get hits and be able to adjust,” Hoff said. Elk Point-Jefferson is a good hitting team. We just have to bring the fire we brought today.”

Beresford  000 000 0 – 0 4 2

West Central 000 002 x – 2 7 1

Brynlee Mohning and Ivy Keiser; Linzie Hoff and Maddy Kunzweiler. 2B – Beresford, Ivy Keiser; West Central, Maddy Kunzweiler, Stella Siemonsma.

Elk Point-Jefferson 3, Madison 1

In the opening game of the tournament, eighth-seeded Elk Point-Jefferson upset Madison 3-1.

Each team scored a run in the first inning, before EPJ surged ahead with two runs in the top of the third fame.

Cera Schmitz gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead on an RBI single. Later in the inning, Schmitz scored on a passed ball to make it a two-run contest and EPJ kept the Bulldogs off the board the rest of the game.

Schmitz finished with two hits to lead the Huskies, while Kelcie Dudley had a pair of hits to top Madison.

EPJ takes on West Central in the semifinals at 2 this afternoon, while the Bulldogs will face Beresford in consolation action at 10 this morning.

Elk Point-Jefferson 102 000 0 – 3 3 1

Madison 100 000 0 – 1 3 4

Regan Rasmussen and Breann Johnson; Aubri Tobkin, K Dudley (5) and Jayna Pedersen. 2B – Madison, Evie Lurz. 3B – Elk Point-Jefferson – Cera Schmitz

Tri-Valley 13, Lennox 4

Second-seeded Tri-Valley erased a four-run deficit en route to a 13-4 win over Lennox.

The Orioles scored once in the first and three times in the second, but Tri-Valley stormed back with four runs in the third inning, three in the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth.

​Hailey Seelen had a two-run double in the second inning for Lennox.

Tri-Valley got its offense going in the bottom half of the frame. Haleigh Wallenstein started the surge with a two-run single, and Isabella Wetmore-Ocampo drove in a run on a bunt.

Wallenstein plated two more runs in the fourth followed by another Wetmore-Ocampo RBI bunt as the Mustangs began to pull away. Ava Christensen and Syenna Halverson each drove in runs in the fourth.

Wetmore-Ocampo finished with game-high totals of three hits and four RBI.

Tri-Valley will face Dakota Valley in the semifinals at 4 this afternoon. Lennox meets Sioux Valley in consolation action at noon.

Lennox 130 000 0 – 4 7 5

Tri-Valley 034 312 x – 13 11 2

Layci Eli, Hayley Hahn (2), Layci Eli (4), Hayley Hahn (6) and Jersey Zahn; Kadence Davey, Emry Jones (6) and Syenna Halverson. 2B – Lennox, Aleeah Oltmans, Hailey Seelen. 3B – Tri-Valley, Isabella Wetmore-Ocampo.

Dakota Valley 7, Sioux Valley 2

Dakota Valley scored seven unanswered runs to start the game and moved to a 7-2 win over Sioux Valley.

The Panthers put up four runs in the third inning to set the tone for the contest.

Mia Riibe led off with a triple and scored on a single by Madie Munch. An error led to the second run, and Payten Konopasek doubled in another run before coming in to score on another error.

DV added two more runs in the fourth as Riibe and Munch knocked in runs, and added another run in the sixth on Annie Bourne’s RBI double.

The Cossacks scored single runs in the sixth and seventh for the final margin of difference.

Dakoa Valley will meet Tri-Valley in the semifinals at 4 this afternoon. Sioux Valley takes on Lennox in consolation action at noon.

Sioux Valley 000 001 1 – 2 4 4

Dakota Valley 004 210 x – 7 8 1

Abby Axtel, McKinley Schwab (4) and Amelia Jacobson; Emma Barnett and Mia Riibe. 2B – Sioux Valley, Amelia Jacobson; Dakota Valley, Annie Bourne, Payten Konopasek. 3B – Sioux Valley, Morgan Lemme; Dakota Valley, Mia Riibe.