The Britton U12 baseball team split four games at the state tournament played in Montrose and Salem last weekend and in the process was named the winner of the Class B Benton Howe Sportsmanship Award.
The award is in honor of Benton Howe of rural Sherman, SD, who passed away in an accident on his farm at the age of 11 in April of 2022. One of his passions was baseball and baseball has always been a staple of the community. The purpose of the award is to recognize another South Dakota baseball community for the efforts and respect shown not only to opponents and officials, but also to the game of baseball itself.
“The coaches of these boys have always instilled the importance of sportsmanship, dignity, and class,” said team statistician Jeff Mills. “The coaches and players always treat the officials and opposing team with respect and the boys are always cheering each other on from the dugout and field. And the fans...they are amazing! The crowd Britton brings to these games that are three hours away beats the teams that just have to walk across the street to go to the ballfield.
“While we didn’t bring home the championship trophy, we brought home an award that says a lot about our community, and I am proud to be a part of the Britton baseball community,” added Mills. “This community is amazing and a well-deserved recognition of the support it provides to the young athletes. The love of baseball also shows with these boys and they will be fun to watch as they continue to grow.”
State Tournament Britton 8 Parkston 7
Britton pushed across a run in the bottom of the final inning to nip Parkston in opening round pool play.
The local nine led 3-0 after three innings but Parkston rallied with four tallies in the top of the fourth. Britton answered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the fourth frame, but Parkston came back with three more in the fifth to knot the contest at 7-7 and set up the final inning.
Liam Peters opened the sixth with a walk. After a foul out, Parkston intentionally walked Bowen Micko because of his home run and double earlier in the game. Peters and Micko advanced on a wild pitch and then Max Suther hit a line drive to left field, scoring Peters for the walk-off win.
Micko homered, doubled, and collected four RBI’s to lead Britton at the plate. Peters, Suther, and Joseph O’Brien added singles. Five pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts with Micko fanning five, and Peters picked up the win.
Parkston 000 430 – 7 6 3 Britton 102 401 – 8 5 1 Levi Mills, Bowen Micko (2), Blayden Downs (4), Max Suther (4), Liam Peters (5) and Easton Zuehlke
Montrose 9 Britton 8
In the second round of pool play Montrose, which finished fourth in the tournament, took advantage of a Britton error and scored twice with two outs in the final inning for the win.
Britton jumped out to an early lead with five runs in the third inning, thanks in part to a two-run homer by Suther. Montrose clawed back with three straight two-run innings to cut the deficit to 7-6 after five frames. Britton boosted that to 8-6 with a run in the top of the sixth and had two outs in the bottom of the final inning before Montrose rallied. A single, error, and intentional walk loaded the bases and then a Britton error resulted in the game-winning runs.
Suther homered and singled, Mills singled twice, Micko homered,, and Downs and O’Brien added safeties.
Britton 005 111 – 8 7 3 Montrose 002 223 – 9 10 2 Easton Zuehlke, Blayden Downs (4), Isaac Richter (5), Parker Lambertz (6) and Max Suther
Britton 16 Salem 4
In single elimination bracket play Britton was seeded 11th out of 20 teams and played the host team, sixth seed Salem, which had allowed only three total runs in pool play. But the locals exploded for two homers, three triples, and five doubles and out-hit Salem 17-2 to roll to a big win.
Mills pitched the first four innings, allowing just a single hit while fanning six. Micko and Richter each pitched an inning in relief.
Four batters had three hits to lead the explosive offensive performance. Micko had a triple, two doubles, and a pair of RBI’s; Zuehlke tripled and singled twice; Peters doubled and singled twice; and O’Brien doubled, singled twice, and knocked in four runs. Mills homered, doubled, and had four RBI’s; Suther homered and singled with two RBI’s; and Lambertz tripled.
Britton 013 345 – 16 17 3 Salem 000 202 – 4 2 5 Levi Mills, Bowen Micko (5), Isaac Richter (6) and Easton Zuehlke
Clark 5 Britton 3
Britton had narrowly defeated Clark earlier in the season but came out on the short end of another tight contest to be eliminated by the 14th seed.
Clark, which placed third in the tourney, grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a couple of errors, but Britton bounced back with two of its own, thanks to an error, a Mills double, and Peters walk. Clark went back on top with a run in the second and added two more in the fifth on a double and a couple of errors for a 5-2 margin. Britton got one back when O’Brien doubled and scored on an error but was not able to mount a final inning rally.
Suther tripled, Mills and O’Brien both doubled, and Micko singled for Britton, which was out-hit only 5-4 but had seven errors. Mills and Micko shared mound duties with Micko fanning three in four innings.
Clark 210 020 – 5 5 2 Britton 200 010 – 3 4 7 Levi Mills, Bowen Micko (3) and Easton Zuehlke
Regular Season Britton 3-12 Aberdeen 13-6
Britton managed just a single hit in the opening loss but rebounded with 12 hits in the nightcap to earn the split.
The local nine trailed just 5-3 in game one in the top of the third but the Smittys broke open the contest with eight runs in the bottom of the third to end the game early on the 10-run rule. Suther managed Britton’s lone hit and four pitchers shared the mound duties.
In the second contest Britton scored six in the third to lead 81 before Aberdeen cut the margin to 8-6 after four. But the locals exploded for four more runs in the fifth to settle the issue. Micko and Peters each doubled and laced a pair of singles, Suther homered and singled and knocked in three runs, Lambertz doubled and singled with two RBI’s, and Mills and Zuehlke added safeties. Downs picked up the pitching win with relief help from Micko, Suther, and Peters.
Britton 021 0 – 3 1 2 Aberdeen 418 x – 13 9 3 Isaac Richter, Brady Heitkamp (2), Maverick Strong (3), Liam Peters (3) and Max Suther, Jarrik Jones Britton 206 04 – 12 12 4 Aberdeen 014 10 – 6 5 2 Blayden Downs, Bowen Micko (3), Max Suther (4), Liam Peters (5) and Easton Zuehlke
