The Sioux Falls Post 15 Elite – West participated in their second tournament of the Fall, the “Omaha Elite/Nebraska Prospects Invitational”.  West split the weekend, going 2-2 against teams from Nebraska and Arkansas.

Sioux Falls West Elite – 9
Nebraska Leighton – 1
6 Innings

West kicked off the tournament with a matchup against Nebraska Leighton.  Mason Crow picked up the win, allowing zero runs over five innings and striking out five batters.  West tallied ten hits, led by Grady Gulbranson, Matt Fiegen and Jordan Miller who had two hits a piece.  Gulbranson, John Rogers and Joe Lund each had multi-RBI games.

Nebraska Barnstormers – 3
Sioux Falls West Elite – 2

West was given an opportunity to face the Nebraska Barnstormers, a team they were soundly defeated by last weekend. West fared much better this weekend, but a seventh inning rally came up just short. Cole Adam threw five and one third innings allowing two earned runs. Mason Crow and Jordan Miller each doubled.  Joe Lund, Carter Ades and Matt Fiegen each contributed one hit.

Sioux Falls West Elite – 9
Northwest Arkansas Prospects – 2

In game three, West took on a team from Arkansas.  Ben Simonsen led the way with three hits, two of which were for extra bases, four RBI and two runs.  Karsten Grove tallied two hits while Mason Crow, Matt Fiegen, Mason Ohnstad and Joe Lund had one a piece.  West reached base 17 times over the course of six offensive innings.  Carlos Caro picked up the win on the mound.

Lincoln Anthology – 2
Sioux Falls West Elite – 1

West closed out the weekend with a very well-pitched game against Lincoln Anthology.  Karsten Grove (5 IP) and Matt Fiegen (2 IP) combined to throw seven innings on 84 pitches, allowing only one earned run on five hits.  Unfortunately, Lincoln Anthology pitchers were just as good, forcing Grove to take the loss for his efforts.  Grove, John Rogers and Ben Simonsen were the West players to pick up hits, with Simonsen doubling and scoring the lone run of the game.

After two tournaments, West sits with a 4-4 record for the Fall season.  West has five games left on their schedule.  They will face Northwestern College Junior Varsity on Thursday for a double header, University of Sioux Falls Junior Varsity on Saturday at 2:00pm, and Brandon Valley on October 3rd for a double header.

The Sioux Falls Post 15 Elite – East continued their fall season with a midweek double header at Brandon Valley and by traveling to Omaha, NE to compete in the “Omaha Elite/Nebraska Prospects Invitational”.  East bounced back with a nice week, splitting with Brandon Valley and finishing 2-2 in Omaha against teams from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.

Brandon Valley – 6
Sioux Falls East Elite – 4
6 Innings

A mid-week double header with Brandon Valley at Valley Springs kicked off the week for East Elite.  Brandon took the first game behind a strong offensive performance, reaching base 17 times in six innings.  Brandon put six runs up in the third inning, which was too much for East to overcome. East put together eight hits, led by a Brandon Ford round-tripper as well as Alex Fuhs and Jacob Lincoln doubles.

Sioux Falls East Elite – 6
Brandon Valley – 0

East bounced back nicely in game two of the double header with four pitchers throwing a combined no-hitter.  Jacob Lincoln threw four innings with Jake Smith, Nate Smith and Cyler Melvin tossing an inning each to complete the no-no.  East scored six runs, mostly due to ten walks.  Cyler Melvin had a double and a single with Luke Pullen tacking on a single as well.

Nebraska Prospects – 7
Sioux Falls Elite East – 3

East began the tournament with a matchup against one of the host Nebraska Prospects teams.  This was a different team than East faced in the Des Moines Tournament. East fell behind early as the Prospects scored 7 combined runs in the third and fourth innings.  Nate Rietz tossed a scoreless final three innings but that wasn’t enough as East couldn’t get the bats going.  Offensively, Brandon Ford and Jake Smith led the way with a hit each and Presten Riddle scored twice.

Sioux Falls East Elite – 11
Millard Sox – 0
5 Innings

In the second game of the tournament, East matched up against the Millard Sox, out of Nebraska. Presten Riddle was lights out on the mound, tossing a complete game shutout on 72 pitches.  He struck out five while allowing two hits and three walks.  East also put together their best offensive performance of the Fall, scoring 11 runs on 11 hits.  Eight different players had hits, led by Nate Smith with three and Brandon Ford with two. Smith, Alex Fuhs and Jacob Lincoln each had two-RBI.

Sioux Falls East Elite – 5
Complete Game – 4
6 Innings

East got a bit of revenge in game three of the tournament, knocking off Complete Game out of Missouri, a team that defeated East last week in Des Moines.  The game was highlighted by a Luke Pullen walk-off single.  Zach Allender picked up the win in a two pitch appearance.  East was able to scrape together five runs off of three hits but were aided by eight walks.  Cyler Melvin doubled and Jacob Lincoln singled in addition to Pullen’s walk-off hit.

Peak White – 14
Sioux Falls East Elite – 1
6 Innings

In the final game of the tournament, East was soundly defeated by Peak White out of Des Moines, Iowa.  Peak put together an outstanding offensive game, totaling 11 extra base hits, including two home runs.  For East, Jake Smith covered the first four innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits while striking out two.  Alex Fuhs, Nick Kemper, and Nate Smith each had a hit with Fuhs scoring the only East run of the game.

Ten games into the Fall season, East sports a 3-6-1 record. East will conclude the Fall schedule with a single game against University of Sioux Falls Junior Varsity on September 30th and a double header against Northwestern College on October 3rd.