By Jon Akre

605 Sports

“Ryland came up big. He’s the player of the tournament, this was his moment,” said VanHeel. “As a senior going to college, I mean why not. He’s been a grinder all year, maybe the average didn’t show it, but he knew that he was going to be the guy. He came up and you could see it in his body language.”

In the sixth inning, the Lynx had bases loaded once again. Senior Aiden Zerr drew a walk to plate the third run before fellow senior Carroll came up with another clutch hit, a two-RBI single into right field to give the Lynx their first lead of the game.

“It was only three runs and we came back from six in the first game so that’s what we were telling each other in the dugout,” said Zerr. “We’ve come back from worse and we have each other’s back.”

A sac-fly from Maxwell Peters capped off a four-run inning and pushed the Lynx lead to two. In the seventh inning the Lynx struck again for another four-run inning with Nolan Pudwill, Zerr, and Peters each driving in runs.

“We showed that there was never a time that was too big or too small,” said VanHeel. “I believed in them so just being even keel and just trusting the process and the kids is where we’re at.”

But the final piece to a Brandon Valley championship came from sophomore pitcher Caleb Severin, who tossed 3.2 innings in relief of starter Carter LaBrie, allowing just one walk to shut down the Jefferson offense.

“Caleb’s been that guy all year for us. He’s just come in and been steady Eddie, throws strikes, and competes,” said VanHeel. “We knew he had it when he went out there, you could see he was a little nervous at first for being a sophomore but he got settled in. It’s easy when all of a sudden you score eight runs behind you.” 

BV and Jefferson traded runs in the first inning before Jefferson took control in the third and fourth innings, scoring one run on a Mason Payne single in the third and two more runs on a Brody Jacobson double. With a 4-1 lead through four innings, the Cavs would only get three more runners on base over the final three innings.

And for the Lynx, who had a bases loaded situation in each of the last four innings, finally overcame the hump in the last two with the help of Zerr and Carroll.

“It was all excitement and joy,” said Zerr after the final out was recorded. “It’s what we’ve been working for all season and finally got it.”

Zerr drove in four runs on two hits and a walk for the Lynx while Carroll drove in three runs on three hits and a walk in the championship alone. Pudwill added two hits, a double and an RBI, Brayden Knutson drew three walks, and Peters drove in two runs in the win.

Jefferson’s Payne tallied two RBIs on two hits while Jacobsen added two RBIs on two hits as well. Noah McFarland took the loss allowing five runs on four hits and two walks in two innings pitched.

The championship marks Brandon Valley’s second ever state title and first since 2018. The Lynx, who fell to state champion Lincoln last season in the semis, avenged that loss with a 9-0 victory in this year’s semis before ending the year on top.