The South Central Junior Legion team entered play in the Area-4 District tournament in Hebron with a strong 12-6-1 record and served as the third seed in the tournament. A pair of motivated challengers would bring South Central’s season to an abrupt halt, as BDS, behind a seven-run seventh inning, downed South Central 8-3 in the opening round, before Utica/Beaver Crossing handed South Central the season ending punch with a 5-3 win to end the year.
In the opening round with BDS, South Central seemingly had the contest in control through six innings of play, leading 3-1 going into the top of the seventh when BDS exploded for the seven runs and held the South Central bats quiet in the bottom half of the seventh to gain the 8-3 victory and drop South Central into the losers bracket of the tournament.
Grayhm Beck had a power day at the plate pounding out a triple and a double, while driving in one run.
Alex Watts had a pair of singles, Wyatt Hemberger and Josh Spray both added a single, as BDS held a narrow edge at the plate, 7-6.
Wyatt Livgren took the loss on the mound, as in five innings of work, Livgren walked one, struck out three, and gave up one run on four hits.
In relief of Hemberger, Jace Hoelting, and Justin Sharp worked one inning each on the mound. Holeting walked one, struck out one, and gave up four runs on one hit, while Sharp walked one, and allowed three runs on two hits.
South Central 3, BDS 8 BDS.........................1 0 0 0 0 0 7 -8 South Central.......... 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 -3 AB R H RBI
Grayhm Beck................................3 0 2 1 Alex Watts....................................3 1 2 0 Wyatt Hemberger........................2 1 1 0 Josh Spray.....................................4 0 1 2 Wyatt Livgren..............................4 1 0 0 Owen Spray..................................1 0 0 0 Jedt Livgren..................................1 0 0 0 Justin Sharp..................................2 0 0 0 Jace Hoelting................................3 0 0 0 Kolten Menke...............................3 0 0 0 Chase Batterman.........................3 0 0 0 So. Central Totals-...............29 3 6 3 BDS Totals-..........................31 8 7 5 ExtraBaseHits: SouthCentral:Beck:1-Triple& 1-Double, Hemberger: 1-Double. BDS: None.
In a must win situation during round two elimination game with Utica/BC, South Central had a tough time getting their offense on track. UBC held a 5-1 lead through five innings of play before South Central tried to rally and keep their season alive, scoring twice in the top of the sixth, but fell short of a complete come back, falling 5-3 to end the season with a 12-8-1 record.
South Central had a 4-2 hitting edge in the game, with Jace Hoelting driving in one run with a pair of singles, while Livgren drove in one run on one single, with Kolten Menke gaining a single during one of his two trips to the plate.
Hemberger was handed the loss, as he walked six, struck out three, while allowing three runs on one hit. Alex Watts worked the mound for two innings, walking three and striking out three, while Sharp manned the hill for two-thirds of an inning, walking one, while giving up two runs on one hit.
South Central 3, Utica/Beaver Crossing 5 South Central................ 0 1 0 0 0 2 -3 Utica/BC........................ 1 1 0 1 2 x -5 AB R H RBI Jace Hoelting................................4 0 2 1 Kolten Menke...............................2 1 1 0 Wyatt Livgren..............................4 0 1 1 Mason Johnanson........................0 1 0 0 Wyatt Hemberger........................3 1 0 0 Grayhm Beck................................2 0 0 0 Justin Sharp..................................2 0 0 0 Josh Spray.....................................3 0 0 0 Joel Hoelting................................3 0 0 0 Alex Watts....................................4 0 0 0 So. Central Totals-...............27 3 4 2 Utica/BC Totals-...................20 5 2 1 Extra Base Hits: South Central: None. U/BC: None.
