Titans reach semi-finals in Dak XII Tournament

On Monday, Apr. 22 the Tea Area High School softball team competed in the first ever Dak XII Conference Tournament held at the Sanford Sports Complex. 

Tea Area took on Vermillion in the quarterfinals and won 5-3. This placed them against Dell Rapids in the semi-finals where they lost, 6-3. 

West Central defeated Dell Rapids, 15-11, in the Championship game to win the Conference title. 

Against Vermillion, the Titans trailed early with Vermillion getting the 1-0 first inning advantage; however, the Titans scored one run in the second, one run in the third, one in the fourth, and two more in the bottom of the fifth, going on to get the 5-3 victory. 

The Titans two run fifth inning was aided by a single by Shealey Geelan who brought in a run and an error followed to give the Titans a 5-3 lead. 

On the mound, Addisyn Hansen handled pitching duties earning the win. She allowed three hits and three runs over five innings, striking out six and walking three. Emily Froendt threw two innings of scoreless ball for Tea Area in relief. She surrendered zero hits, striking out four and walking none. 

Abby Boom, Kalli Boom, Froendt, Hansen, Emersyn Erck and Geelan each collected one hit for the Titans. 

With the win over Vermillion, the Titans faced off against Dell Rapids. 

Tea Area opened the scoring in the second inning after Skyler Haines hit a solo home run to left field. The Quarriers, however, answered back with a home run of their own, taking the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second.

The Titans took the lead in the top of the fifth as Froendt doubled to score two runs and gave Tea Area the 3-2 lead. Dells made the score 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a double that scored three runs and a single that brought one run across home plate. 

Froendt took the loss on the mound for the Titans, pitching six innings. She allowed six runs on 12 hits and recorded seven strike-outs. She walked one batter. 

Recording hits for the Titans in the game were K. Boom, Sydney Ganschow, Froendt, Hansen, A. Boom, Haines, and Morgan Sehr. 

Prior to the Dak XII Tournament, the Titans defeated Lennox 7-2 on Friday, Apr. 19 and Beresford, 12-0 on Apr. 20. 

In the game against Lennox, Froendt hit two home runs to help lead the Titans to a 7-2 victory. Froendt homered in both the third and seventh innings. Her solo home run in the third, gave the Titans a 2-1 lead. In the seventh inning, Froendt’s home run combined with a home run by K. Boom, added three more runs to the Titans’ score. 

Hansen earned the win on the mound for the Titans. She surrendered eight hits and two runs over seven innings, striking out six and walking three. 

Froendt, Ganschow, and Erck each provided two hits for the Titans and K. Boom and Geelan each had one. 

Against Beresford, Sehr, Ava Opland, and Geelan combined for six of the team’s 12 hits, scoring five runs and riving in three, in the Titans 12-0 victory. 

Tea Area scored five runs in the bottom of the second, two in the bottom of the third and five in the bottom of the fourth to seal their win. In the second, Sehr singled, scoring one run, Ganschow drew a walk, scoring one run and Froendt doubled, scoring three runs. 

In the third, Boom doubled to add two runs and in the fourth, Erck singled, scoring one run, Sehr singled, scoring one run, Opland singled, scoring one run, Boom drew a walk to score one run and Ganschow was struck by a pitch to bring in another run. 

On the mound, Froendt earned the win. She gave up one hit and zero runs over four innings, striking out five and walking one. Hansen threw one inning of shutout ball for the Titans in relief. She gave up zero hits, striking out three and walking none. 

The Titans will host Canton on Friday, Apr. 26 in a 4 p.m. match-up. On Saturday, Apr. 27 they will be at Dell Rapids for a 1 p.m. match-up. On Monday, Apr. 29 the Titans travel to Madison for a 4 p.m. game.