BRANDON — From a nailbiter to a Gamecocks steamroll, Humboldt-Hartford is moving on in the Class B state amateur baseball tournament.

After seven innings of tight baseball, HH pounded out nine runs to pull away from Tabor, 10-3, advancing to Friday’s state quarterfinals.

“It was good pitching, good defense,” said Gamecocks manager Chad Morrison. “We hit some balls hard and they made some really good plays, surehanded gloves. Same thing on their side, they hit the ball hard, we made some plays too. It was just trying to find a way to get that first one across.”

Wednesday’s second-round matchup began as a pitchers duel through nearly six innings of play. In the bottom of the sixth, Tabor was able to break the scoreless tie after left fielder Easton Mudder pushed one to right field, scoring centerfielder Chase Kortan.

“Pitcher’s duel all the way throughout,” Morrison said. “Honestly everyone is just looking for that first run. Unfortunately it was not us but we responded pretty quickly and just tried to scratch across another one.”

But Tabor wouldn’t hold the lead for long. The next half inning, Brodie Herr (Hartford/Humboldt Wood Ducks pick-up player) would tie the game on an RBI double. Herr’s double was a sign of things to come for the Gamecocks in the eighth inning.

After Jonah Rechtenbaugh reached on an error and Joe Hanisch tallied a single, Ryan Holgate broke the game open with a homer against Tabor pitcher Alex Wagner (Lesterville pick-up player).

HartfordHumboldt Gamecocks Ryan Holgate rounds second after hitting a three-run home run in the eight inning against the Tabor Bluebirds during the second round of the 2025 South Dakota State Amateur Baseball Tournament Wednesday, August 13, 2025 in Brandon. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

“He did an awesome job,” Holgate said of Wagner. “He was doing really well with his change up, he was getting me to swing and miss. He did a really great job. He just left one down the middle and I did some damage on it.”

Holgate’s homer was just the start of a six-run inning for HH. Two batters later, Kyle Konechne drove in a run on a single, while Broc Haldeman pushed two more across on a double to make it a 7-1 game.

“Just building off each other, trying to get that next hit and we’ve got good wheels and we’re not afraid to use them,” said Morrison on the six-run inning.”

The Gamecocks continued that momentum into the ninth inning plating three more runs. Holgate doubled to score one while Blake Svoboda grounded into left field to give HH double-digit runs on the night.

“For our team, for the Gamecocks, it’s always been contagious,” Holgate said. “It’s either, we’re kind of slow and then when we get it, it starts going off. It’s kind of a team thing it seems like. Every time we get going, one or two good at-bats, it just takes off from there.”

While the offense did its thing, starting pitcher Rechtenbaugh tossed a gem to limit the South Central League district champions. Rechtenbaugh allowed three runs on nine hits and four walks in a complete game, tossing seven strikeouts.

“He does a great job of getting that first-pitch strike and he just kept battling every time,” said Morrison of Rechtenbaugh. “One through nine, they’re tough. And he just hung in every time. They pushed the envelope a couple innings and he just kept getting out of it.”

Rechtenbaugh got into trouble late in the ninth allowing two runs on four hits, but earned a strikeout to close out the complete game win.