Tea Steam capture third at State

The Tea Steam wrapped up a successful run at the 2026 South Dakota Class A State Amateur Baseball Tournament with a third-place finish after battling through the final three games Aug. 14-15.

Tea continued tournament play Friday, Aug. 14, with an exciting 8-7 victory over the Aberdeen Circus. The Steam then returned to the field Saturday, Aug. 15, and defeated the Brookings Cubs, 14-13, in another high-scoring contest to advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinal round, Tea faced the Harrisburg Woodies and fell 8-2. Harrisburg went on to capture the Class A state championship Sunday, Aug. 16, defeating the Renner Monarchs, 3-1.

The third-place finish capped a strong tournament showing for the Steam. Tea’s strong tournament included an outstanding individual performance from pitcher and utility player Cameron Jensen.

Jensen was named the recipient of the Sid Lundquist Class A Batting Champion Award after going 11-for-23 at the plate over the five-game state tournament, good for a .478 batting average.

Jensen also delivered several important hits throughout Tea’s tournament run, including a double in the ninth inning against Aberdeen that put the eventual winning run in scoring position.

Steam rally past Aberdeen

On Friday, Aug. 14 the Steam took on Aberdeen in a back-and-forth contest that ultimately came down to the final at-bat.

The Steam jumped in front in the bottom of the first when Michael Buchmann singled and Dawson Portner followed with a two-run home run, giving Tea an early 2-0 advantage.

Aberdeen answered with a run in the second before taking a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning. Tea responded in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at 4-4 on a sacrifice fly by Buchmann before taking a 5-4 lead when Ben Loos delivered an RBI single.

Tea added another run in the sixth when Billy Mote reached on an error and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Henry Hammrich, making it 6-4.

Aberdeen battled back in the seventh, scoring twice to tie the game at 6-6.

The Steam answered immediately. Dawson Portner drew a walk and eventually came around to score on a Nathan Babb single, putting Tea back in front, 7-6.

Aberdeen tied the game again in the eighth, setting up a dramatic ninth inning.

After Aberdeen stranded runners in scoring position in the top half of the ninth, Tea came to the plate looking for the winning run. Portner lined out, but Cameron Jensen followed with a double. Ben Loos was intentionally walked, and after Nathan Babb struck out, Andy Moen drew a walk to load the bases.

Billy Mote then delivered the game-winning hit, singling to center field to score Jensen and give the Steam an 8-7 victory.

High-scoring battle with Brookings

Tea took on the Brookings Cubs on Saturday, Aug. 15 in another offensive battle. 

The Steam scored first in the opening inning when Logan Boom walked and Dawson Portner singled before Jensen grounded into a double play that allowed Boom to score.

Tea extended its lead in the second inning. Nathan Babb walked, Henry Hammrich singled and Logan Boom walked before Portner singled home Babb. Hammrich later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jensen, giving Tea a 3-0 advantage.

Brookings answered with four runs in the bottom of the second to take its first lead of the game.

Tea regained the advantage in the third. Andy Moen singled, Babb walked and Troy Ljunggren singled to load the bases. Hammrich then drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, while Boom’s sacrifice fly scored Babb and put Tea ahead 5-4.

The Steam added two more runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to build a 9-4 lead.

Tea broke the game open in the sixth. Babb and Kasen Christiansen reached safely before Hammrich singled to load the bases. Boom’s sacrifice fly brought home Babb, and Portner followed with a three-run home run to left field, pushing the Steam’s advantage to 13-4.

Brookings refused to go quietly, cutting into the lead with runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Tea added an insurance run in the eighth when Jensen singled home Hammrich, making it 14-9.

The Cubs mounted a furious rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four runs to pull within one at 14-13. With the tying run on base, however, Tea’s defense held firm. Brookings grounded out to end the game and send the Steam into the semifinals.

Harrisburg ends Steam’s run

Tea faced the Harrisburg Woodies in the semifinal round Saturday.

The Woodies scored three runs in the third inning to establish a 3-0 lead and added another run in the sixth.

Tea finally broke through in the seventh. Jensen drew a walk before Ben Loos launched a two-run home run to left field, cutting Harrisburg’s lead to 4-2.

Harrisburg answered with four runs in the eighth, extending its advantage to 8-2. Tea was unable to mount another comeback in the ninth, bringing its tournament run to an end.

Harrisburg went on to defeat Renner, 3-1, in Sunday’s championship game to claim the Class A Amateur title.