MADISON – For the second straight game Groton fell behind by three runs in the opening inning and was unable to recover.
Dakota Valley forced Groton to play from behind all game and eventually eliminated the Tigers 8-4 during consolation round action at the Class B American Legion State Baseball Tournament on Sunday afternoon.
Dakota Valley scored three runs in the first and three more in the third, half of them coming on bases-loaded walks.
Groton got on the board in the third on Gavin Englund’s RBI single, but left the bases loaded. The Tigers added another run in the fourth on a balk, and then went down swinging in the top of the seventh on a two-run home run from Jordan Schwan.
“Today was tough. I think the story of our tournament was not being to able to get a big hit when we needed one,” said Groton coach Pat Krause. “The last two games we had chances to score runs and just weren’t able to capitalize.”
Dakota Valley racked up 12 hits, including five for extra bases, in the contest.
“Gavin Englund started on the mound. He struggled a bit in the first inning, but I felt confident that he would make adjustments and settle in,” Krause said. “He showed a little bit that he might settle in and did for a bit, however DV was able to work counts to their favor and hit balls hard.”
Schwan, who also doubled, finished with two hits, drove in a pair of runs, and also scored a run.
The win capped a 24-11 season for the Tigers, who will lose Jarrett Erdmann, Carter Simon, Karsten Fliehs, and Englund off the squad.
“We do lose some key veterans. These four guys have been around and been playing for a long time,” Krause said. “They have been part of three state tournament teams and have left a strong legacy that the younger kids are going to have to work to live up to. Our younger guys gained a lot of experience this season and will be looked at to be leaders next year.”
While their state tournament run ended sooner than the Tigers wanted, they were able to earn a spot in the tourney field for the third year in a row.
“Even though we lost out sooner than we would have liked, this season was a success,” Krause said. “It’s never easy making a state tournament and this is our third one in a row. Our returning players are hungry to get back to the state tournament next year.”
Groton 001 100 2 – 4 7 1
Dakota Valley 303 002 x – 8 12 2
Gavin Englund, TC Schuster (3) and Karsten Fliehs; Noah Graham, V. Hoffman (7) and J. Wiese. 2B – Groton, Jordan Schwan, Fliehs; Dakota Valley, Jack Jones, Jackson Shoulders, Wiese, Graham. HR – Groton, Schwan; Dakota Valley, Grady Ramos.
