By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

MITCHELL — Dalton Lehnen, a former minor league pitcher in the New York Yankees organization, gave major props to South Dakota Class B amateur baseball on Friday.  

Behind Lehnen and a 10th inning RBI single by Ty Hoglund, Dell Rapids outlasted Dimock-Emery 2-1 in a tight Class B state amateur quarterfinal game Friday at Cadwell Park. 

“That was probably the toughest game I’ve probably ever pitched in and I’ve pitched in a lot of competitive games,” Lehnen said. “I’ve never gone past nine and that lineup, early on the first pitch they were swinging ready to attack. It was just a great game between two teams.” 

Lehnen pitched all 10 innings, struck out 11 batters, gave up three hits, one earned run and issued three walks on 136 pitches. Lehnen also drove in a run and Hoglund’s go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning propelled the Mudcats past the pesky Raptors. 

“That’s what state amateur baseball is all about right there,” Hoglund said. “Two great teams going at it and talk about a heckuva pitching performance on both sides. Thankfully we just scored one more run than them and that’s what we needed to pull away.”

Dimock-Emery starter Jason Schmidt also threw all 10 innings. The veteran right-hander struck out five batters, allowed eight hits, gave up two earned runs and walked seven batters on 169 pitches. 

“He was absolutely unbelievable,” Dimock-Emery manager Brad Bartscher said. “Dalton Lehnen is one helluva pitcher for them and Jason knew he had to put up zeros to give us a chance and he did exactly that. We had a few scoring chances and that’s just the way it goes.”

PHOTOS 90th SD State Amateur Baseball Tournament - Dimock/Emery Raptors vs. Dell Rapids Mudcats - https://t.co/7JErsNRmTt pic.twitter.com/tKZUwo95WL

— 605 Sports (@605_sports) August 13, 2022

The teams combined to leave 21 runners stranded on base, including a whopping 15 by the Raptors. But Hoglund, who was 0 of 4 before the go-ahead RBI, came up with the biggest hit of the night. 

Trevor Freudenthal walked to lead off the 10th inning and was moved over to second base on a sac bunt by Travis Peters. Freudenthal advanced to third on a ground out and that brought up Hoglund, a former Dakota Wesleyan University All-American basketball player.

“He was struggling the whole game,” Lehnen said. “But Ty is one of those guys that lives for it. He’s a Mitchell product and he lives for those moments.” 

Hoglund slapped a 1-0 pitch into left field to score Freudenthal from third base. Hoglund is now 2 of 13 through the first three games of the tourney. 

“I am about 0 for 15 in this state tournament,” Hoglund joked. “So that one felt pretty good. That’s why you are an athlete. You live for moments like these and thankfully I got put in that spot and came through.” 

Lehnen retired Doug Sudbeck and Caleb Crist on back-to-back pitches, while he walked pinch hitter Gene Kitchens on the next at-bat. But Peyton Nash struck out swinging to button up the highly-contested game. 

“It seems like when we play the Dells Mudcats we lock horns and both teams go right at it,” Bartscher said. “Both pitchers dueled and they got one extra hit than we did at the right time and that’s baseball. That’s how it goes and hats off to them. They’re one helluva team.”

Lehnen and Schmidt hummed along through the first four innings. Lehnen poked a two-out RBI single for a 1-0 Dell Rapids lead in the fifth inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, Schmidt broke up Lehnen’s no-hitter on a dribbler to first base and just beat out the throw. Sudbeck, a pinch hitter and veteran amateur player, cracked an RBI single into left field to even the score at 1-1. 

“What can you say about Doug Sudbeck?” Bartscher said. “You pinch him at the right time and he comes through and he gives us a chance to win. I hope that guy plays until he’s 100. He just flat out gets it done.”

Lehnen and Schmidt continued to pitch scoreless innings, while both teams left runners stranded on base. In the seventh, Dell Rapids PBR pick-up player Weston Hansen grounded out with two runners on base. Hansen also went down swinging with a runner in scoring position in the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, Hansen snagged a Sam Arend pop fly in right field for the third out to force extra innings. It set the stage for Hoglund’s go-ahead RBI single. 

Drew Kitchens added a hit for the Raptors, who fell one game short of earning back-to-back trips to the Class B semifinals. 

“Our future is going to be bright with the positive attitudes we do have with our young guys,” Bartscher said. “We will continue putting pieces around them and the future is bright for us.”

Dell Rapids, meanwhile, is one game away from making another trip to the state championship game. The defending state champs, Dell Rapids will play either Winner/Colome or Kimball/White Lake on Saturday in the semifinals. 

“Anytime you get to this stage you want to get to the second weekend and get to the semifinals,” Lehnen said. “There’s some really good teams there.”