After losing 2-1 to Brookings on Thursday night, Rapid City Post 22 entered Friday’s elimination game against Sioux Falls West with the unfamiliar task of having to win four consecutive games to claim their third straight South Dakota State title.

The Hardhats took the first step towards that goal by defeating West 4-2 on Friday.

Sioux Falls jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening frame courtesy of an RBI single by Damon Buruth and an RBI double by Nick Mimmack. However, Post 22 starter Jarrett Jensen didn’t allow another run the rest of the game.

Despite allowing 10 hits, Jensen went all nine innings, working out of several jams along the way, striking out five and walking only one. It was his seventh win of the season.

Jensen has also been the offensive leader for Rapid City in the tourney with five hits in 11 at bats.

The Hardhats tied the game at 2-all in the bottom of the second with a Ryne Lees RBI double, and an RBI single from Jacob James.

In the third, the middle of the Post 22 order gave Jensen all the run support he would need. Jake Bohne launched a solo homerun to right, his first of the season, giving the Hardhats a 3-2 advantage. Two batters later, Jake Sullivan knocked in the final run of the game with a single to right.

The game also had a couple controversial moments. In the first inning, West’s cleanup hitter, Baruth, was ejected after he plowed over Post 22′s catcher Sam Parkinson. In American Legion baseball, a runner must slide into home if there is a play at the plate. Parkinson later left the game and was replaced by Austin Wickham in the third.

After Bohne’s home run in the third, the Sioux Falls catcher brought Bohne’s bat to the umpire’s claiming it was an illegal bat. The crew examined it, but the homerun stood.

Post 22 (45-19) will play Sioux Falls East on Saturday. The game time will depend on the outcome of the Sioux Falls East/Brookings game being played Friday night.

If Sioux Falls wins, the game with Rapid City will be at 5 p.m. MDT. If East loses, they will play an elimination game at 2 p.m..

Sioux Falls West 2 vs. Post 22 Varsity 4

Jul 29 2011
Scored by Kathy Lees
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Sioux Falls West
 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0
Post 22 Varsity
 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 9 1
Sioux Falls West
Batting AB R H RBI BB SO
J Frazier 5 0 1 0 0 0
T Hurley 3 1 0 0 1 0
C Wolfgang 4 1 1 0 0 1
D Baruth 1 0 1 1 0 0
N Mimmack 3 0 2 1 0 0
T Davis 4 0 0 0 0 0
J Rezac 4 0 0 0 0 0
A Holzer 4 0 3 0 0 0
B Nelson 4 0 1 0 0 1
C Rasmusson 3 0 0 0 0 3
D Haffeman 1 0 1 0 0 0
Totals 36 2 10 2 1 5
Batting
2B: J Frazier, N Mimmack
TB: J Frazier 2, C Wolfgang, D Baruth, N Mimmack 3, A Holzer 3, B Nelson,D Haffeman
RBI: D Baruth, N Mimmack
ROE: T Davis
FC: J Frazier, T Hurley
GIDP: J Rezac
Quality At Bats

Team Total: 12 (32.43%)

J Frazier , T Hurley , C Wolfgang 2 , D Baruth , N Mimmack 3 , A Holzer 2 ,B Nelson , C Rasmusson
Post 22 Varsity
Batting AB R H RBI BB SO
J James 2 0 1 1 2 0
D Bledsoe 4 0 0 0 0 2
J Jensen 4 0 1 0 0 0
N Johnson 4 1 1 0 0 0
J Bohne 4 1 1 1 0 0
J Sullivan 4 0 2 1 0 0
C Wevik 4 1 2 0 0 0
R Lees 4 1 1 1 0 1
S Parkinson 1 0 0 0 0 0
A Wickham 3 0 0 0 0 3
Totals 34 4 9 4 2 6
Batting
2B: R Lees
HR: J Bohne
TB: J James, J Jensen, N Johnson, J Bohne 4, J Sullivan 2, C Wevik 2, R Lees 2
RBI: J James, J Bohne, J Sullivan, R Lees
FC: N Johnson
SB: C Wevik
Quality At Bats

Team Total: 13 (36.11%)

J James 3 , D Bledsoe , J Jensen , N Johnson 2 , J Bohne , J Sullivan 2 , R Lees ,A Wickham 2

FieldingBeta
E: N Johnson
DP: J Bohne, D Bledsoe, N Johnson
Sioux Falls West
Pitching IP H R ER BB SO HR S%
D Haffeman 6.0 8 4 4 2 5 1 64.9%
C Wolfgang 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 61.1%
Totals 8.0 9 4 4 2 6 1 64.3%
Pitching
Loss: D Haffeman
Pitches-Strikes: D Haffeman 94-61, C Wolfgang 18-11
Groundouts-Flyouts: D Haffeman 6-7, C Wolfgang 3-2
First-pitch strikes-Batters faced: D Haffeman 16-29, C Wolfgang 3-7
Post 22 Varsity
Pitching IP H R ER BB SO HR S%
J Jensen 9.0 10 2 2 1 5 0 66.2%
Totals 9.0 10 2 2 1 5 0 66.2%
Pitching
Win: J Jensen
Pitches-Strikes: J Jensen 130-86
Groundouts-Flyouts: J Jensen 8-10