Two More Cornbelt Teams Advance to States

Last night, Games 13 and 14 of the Cornbelt District Tournament were played, with two more spots in the Class B State Amateur Tournament being claimed by the Flandreau Cardinals and the Lennox Alpacas.

In the first game of the night, both the Salem Cubs and Flandreau Cardinals got runs on the board early, with the Cardinals getting a 3-2 lead after the first, thanks to Aiden Ladds 3 run homer out to center field. They then scored three more in the second, giving the feeling that they might run a way with the victory. However, the Cubs kept themselves in it, along with a lack of hitting from the Cardinals. Cubs began to make it interesting in the eighth and ninth innings, but the Cardinals halted a potential Cubs comeback after giving up three runs in the final two innings, holding on to a 7-5 win over Salem. 

The second game was not nearly as close as the first, with the Lennox Alpacas ending the game early with a 14-1 win over Dell Rapids PBR in seven innings. The Alpacas had four innings with multiple runs scored, five hitters registering two hits, and just a dominant performance over PBR both at the plate and on the mound, getting 17 total hits while only giving up three hits. Only one Alpaca batter struck out while at the plate. Corey Vasquez gets the win for the Alpacas, giving up only two hits while striking out seven. Vasquez also had two hits, two runs, and an RBI for Lennox.

The Salem Cubs and Dell Rapids PBR have one more chance to get into the Class B State Amateur Tournament, with the winner of their game this afternoon clinching the final spot in the tournament for the Cornbelt league.