Angels crush Clark to reclaim Class B amateur crown

Aug. 16—MITCHELL — Three years ago, when Alexandria and Clark met in the Class B amateur baseball tournament bracket, the Traders scored a significant first-round upset to send the Angels home early. Sunday afternoon, with a state championship at stake, the Halos made sure no such surprise was in store. A massive first inning set the tone, as Alexandria steamrolled Clark 12-2 in seven innings at Cadwell Park to claim the club's sixth South Dakota Class B amateur baseball tournament title overall, all since 2013, and first since 2020. The Angels finished the season with a 21-3 overall record, also complete with the Sunshine League regular-season title, District 5B tournament title. "It's an awesome feeling; there's nothing better," said Alexandria player/manager Peyton Smith. "My feeling is the next one is always the best one. I love this." Four batters and nine total pitches into the game, Alexandria grabbed the lead on a Tyson Gau single that scored Dakota Munger. It was just the beginning of a first-inning avalanche that saw 14 batters come to the plate and put Clark at a 9-0 deficit before the Traders came up to bat for the first time. Along the way, the Angels chased Clark starting pitcher Hudson Fuller, who had earned credit for two wins in the tournament, after just two outs. "There's no better way to get started, especially in the championship game, but we knew we had to keep our composure because they were always coming back in earlier games," Smith said. "We had to keep our foot on the gas pedal." The Angels kept the offense rolling in the second, adding three more runs to make it 12-0. On the mound, Alexandria turned to Munger for the first time in the tournament, and he was in complete control from the first pitch. He sent down the first two batters he faced on strikes as part of his eight strikeouts for the game while yielding nine hits and one walk in the seven-inning complete game. "Dakota is one of the better shortstops in the state, so we just couldn't take him off of that position," Smith said. "But I told him, 'This is going to be your game,' and he delivered. He's been big for us all year, and he did it again today." For his efforts, Munger was named the Keith Culter Most Valuable Player for the Class B tournament, finishing 13-for-25 (.520) at the plate with nine runs batted in and four extra-base hits, including a home run, across five games in addition to the pitching win in the title game. Clark got on the scoreboard in the third by way of an RBI double off the bat of Zach Toben, who was honored on Saturday night as the Class B winner of the Tony Adams Hustle Award. Toben's hit scored Cooper Pommer, who came around to score again in the fifth. Alexandria was paced by the bat of Ben Wilber, who had three hits, two runs batted in and two runs scored, while Munger added three RBIs, two hits and two runs scored. Jerrod Zens and Charlie Dubanoski each tallied two hits and two RBIs. Jakob Steen led the way offensively for Clark with two hits and one RBI, while Marik Junker added two hits. Fuller was tagged with the pitching loss, as Jack Heesch and Kaleb Drenth each made relief appearances. For Clark (10-9-1), the title game defeat ended a magical tournament run. The Traders, who won just one game between June 12 and the start of the District 1B tournament on July 25, came alive in the postseason with six victories in eight games, including four wins by a single run. After getting by Wessington Springs in the opening round, Clark's performances at Cadwell Park included wins over the Cornbelt League champion Dell Rapids Mudcats, another Cornbelt power in the Hartford/Humboldt Wood Ducks and South Central League champion Tabor. Clark was recognized as the winners of the Richard Rockafellow Sportsmanship Award. Also among the post-tournament award winners, Weston Hansen, of Dell Rapids PBR, earned the Sid Lundquist Batting Champion Award for Class B, finishing 8 of 14 for a .571 average across four games. But the day belonged to the Angels, who won their 52nd state tournament game all-time, which ranks as the fifth-most in state amateur baseball history. This story will be updated.