On June 10, Dakota Munger hoisted a golf trophy and hurled a no-hitter. 

The recent Chamberlain High School graduate pulled off an impressive feat, winning a golf tournament and throwing a no-hitter on the same day. He won the 16-18 boys South Dakota Junior Golf Tour title at Pierre, and after driving to Chamberlain, threw a five-inning no-hitter in Legion ball to conclude his day. 

This on the heels of teaming up with Coleman Caldwell, another Chamberlain High School graduate, to finish second at the SDGA two-man championship in Yankton on June 8-9. 

“That was a fun two days,” Munger said. “Then to come back home Monday and play in Pierre and win and turn right back around and play baseball the same night — it was kind of a long couple of days.”

Munger teed off on Monday around 10 a.m., beginning his memorable day with three straight birdies. But as wind gusts picked up around 35 miles an hour, Munger’s round got tougher. 

“It was a tough day on the course for sure,” Munger said. “Pierre is one of those courses if you are not hitting it well, or a little unsure about where you are hitting the ball, it can beat you up a little bit.”

Munger shot a 35 on the front nine, a 40 on the back nine and a 3-over 75 to win the tournament. After the 5 1/2 hour-round, Munger hustled the 85 miles back to Chamberlain and pulled into the parking lot at 5:15 p.m. 

“I didn’t feel rushed at all,” Munger said. “I felt more exhausted and tired than anything from just running around and spending a lot of time in a car.” 

Chamberlain's Dakota Munger watches a tee shot in Sept. 2023. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

The doubleheader with the Hitmen Legion (Faulkton) started at 6 p.m., and Munger drove in a run in a 2-1 loss in Game 1. In Game 2, struck out 12 batters and issued one walk in the no-hitter. He also smacked a two-run single in the fifth inning for the only two runs. 

Not bad for just playing 18 holes of golf earlier in the day. 

“My body was tired and exhausted from golf, but as soon as I got up there it felt perfectly fine,” Munger said. “I was still throwing as hard as I normally do. I didn’t have to mess around with too much off speed and just kind of heavily relied on the fastball and it was working. I was commanding it well and throwing it for strikes.” 

Munger threw 70 pitches, 45 for strikes and faced 16 batters. The game was called after five innings due to impending weather, and Munger’s day finished up around 8:30 p.m.

“I felt really good for being as exhausted as I was,” Munger said. “It didn’t even bother me that I played golf for three days in a row and then had to pitch. I felt normal out there.” 

In addition to playing for Chamberlain Post 3, Munger is also on the Chamberlain Mallards amateur baseball team. On June 6, he hammered a grand slam and drove in five runs in a 7-6 loss against the Plankinton Bankers. 

Next fall, Munger will attend Dakota Wesleyan University to play golf and baseball. He will major in fitness and sports management, while balancing two sports. 

But it’s nothing new for the multi-sport standout. 

“I think it will be a lot of fun,” Munger said. “A lot of people say that one sport is hard enough to manage and then you throw two on there, it’s not going to be possible. But it’s really not a whole lot different than what I do now. So I don't think it will be too much of a problem to work with two sports and in school there as well. I am looking forward to it. It should be a lot of fun.”