The Britton U12 baseball team knocked off the top seed in the state tournament played in Webster last weekend and ended up with a fourth place finish in the 20-team field.
The Junior Jacks, now 2913 on the year, will be looking to record back-to-back 30win seasons when they wrap up their season by hosting the Sisseton All-Stars tonight (Wednesday) for a doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m.
Britton stopped Groton 116 and fell to Bon Homme 4-1 in pool play on Friday, earning the number nine seed in the tourney. The Junior Jacks downed Salem 5-1 in first round action and then derailed top-seeded Clark 5-3 in round two to make the Final Four, but dropped a tough 7-4 decision to Emery in semifinal action before losing 9-0 to Parkston in the third place contest.
Britton 11 Groton 6
Britton rallied from a 54 deficit with two runs in the third and three more in the fourth to take down Groton.
Drew Heitmann led Britton’s 11-hit attack with a double and two singles. Liam Peters doubled and singled, Bowen Micko singled twice, Luke Bosse tripled, Chaz Vietor and Carter Grobe both doubled, and Max Suther singled. Levi Mills started on the mound and was relieved in the second by Easton Zuehlke, who fanned five batters.
Bon Homme 4 Britton 1
Bon Homme limited the Junior Jacks to just a pair of hits, a triple by Vietor and single from Suther. Heitmann, Peters, Micko, and Vietor were all on the mound, saving innings for tourney play on the weekend.
Britton 5 Salem 1
Heitmann made it tough on Salem, pitching a complete game and striking out four while not allowing a walk. He also aided his own cause with a pair of singles.
Micko doubled and singled, Vietor and Bosse each singled twice, and Mills added a safety.
Britton 5 Clark 3
Britton’s strong pitching continued against Clark in front of a big Britton crowd. Vietor pitched a gem of a game, striking out 11 and allowing just three hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings before reaching his pitch maximum. Heitmann relieved and blanked Clark the rest of the way. Jack Teveldal came up with an amazing catch at shortstop in the final inning.
Vietor also led the Junior Jacks at the plate with a triple and single, knocking in a pair of runs. Peters, Heitmann, and Zuehkle each contributed a single.
Emery 7 Britton 4
Britton led 3-2 in the second frame but Emery pushed across three tallies in the second and two more in the fourth despite being out-hit 13-5 in the contest.
Peters ripped a triple, double, and single and Mills doubled and singled twice to lead the Jacks at the plate. Vietor and Zuehlke added two safeties each, and Heitmann, Micko, and Bosse singled. Peters started on the mound, Micko pitched 3 2/3 innings, fanning six, and Trey Biel relived in the final inning.
Parkston 9 Britton 0
Parkston managed runs in each of the first four innings while blanking the Junior Jacks.
Peters, Teveldal, and Bosse each singled for Britton. Teveldal pitched the first three innings, striking out four, and Biel and Bosse relieved.
The Britton U12 baseball team placed fourth at the Class B state tournament on Sunday. Team members in front left to right are Oliver Suther and Gannon Peters. Second row Luke Bosse, Max Suther, Blayden Downs, Easton Zuehlke, Carter Grobe, Jerrik Jones, Jack Teveldal, Carter Nelson, Henry Kilker, Parker Lambertz, and Joseph O’Brien. Third row Levi Mills, Cody Chapin, Maverick Strong, Trey Biel, Chaz Vietor, Drew Heitmann, Liam Peters, Jacob Folkman, Bowen Micko, and Kylan Sasker. Back row coaches Adam Suther, DuWayne Bosse, Brandon Peters, Jake Heitmann, and Preston Kilker.
Britton’s Jack Teveldal tagged the runner at home plate but the umpire called him safe in the third place Class B state tournament game on Sunday in Webster. The local nine placed fourth in the tourney. (Kelly Mills Photos)
