By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

The Bluejays blew the game open with a six-run sixth inning, chasing Four Corners starter Garrett Stout. The three-run cushion gave Steckler a huge sigh of relief. 

“It was huge,” Steckler said. “When you are down 4-1, you don’t have any room for error. You’ve got to hold that score where it’s at and you hope the offense just chips away.”

But after the six-run frame, heavy rains caused the delay as the tarp was placed on the Cadwell Park field. After an hour and 30-minute delay, the game was moved to the artificial turf Drake Field.  

“Physically it was just knowing that I needed to keep myself loose,” Steckler said about the delay. “If it got cold I wasn't going to be able to get warmed up and go. Just kind of keeping up with some band work and keeping myself moving.” 

Garretson’s offense carried over to Drake Field. The Bluejays piled up five more runs at Drake Field and put the game out of reach. 

“Any win you can get at Cadwell, we are happy, or Drake too,” Vanhove said. “So we'll take it.”

Vanhove was especially complimentary of the grounds crew and the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association for allowing the teams to finish their game.  

“Thank you for the staff,” Vanhove said. “Thank you to the commissioners. Thank you for both teams being able to play tonight. Because it would have been tough coming back tomorrow.” 

Robin Chute batted 4-for-5 to lead Garretson in hits, Nick Bonte collected three hits, Trey Buckneberg drove in two runs on two hits, Scott Splett and Vanhove each drove in a run on a hit and a walk, while Dylan Kindt tacked on a three-RBI single in the win.

For Four Corners, Stout surrendered seven runs on six hits and four walks in 5.2 innings, striking out seven.

B Hand, Sam Hand, and Andrew McCloud each drove in a run on one hit, including a triple by Sam Hand, while Andrew Coverdale tallied two hits and an RBI in the loss.

Up next, Garretson will face Winner/Colome at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Class B quarterfinals. The Bluejays and Pheasants, albeit from different parts of the state, have locked horns in recent state tournaments and will face each other again on Friday. 

“We faced them in the state tournament a few times,” Steckler said. “I know a bunch of those guys from college days and whatnot. So it’s going to be a fun one. They are a really good team obviously and we’ve got a heckuva challenge ahead of us. But we are also a good team, too.”