RAPID CITY The Huron 16U Tigers finished an excellent season on Saturday, but would much rather have woken up early Sunday for championship bracket play. Unfortunately, that was out of the teams hands at the 16U state baseball tournament in Rapid City.
Friday evening, the Tigers faced Renner Post 307 16U and fell 9-5. Renner would end up accounting for more than one-third of the Tigers losses on the season.
Huron actually jumped out to an early lead and there was an upset brewing. In the bottom of the third, with the game scoreless, Gavin Waldner reached on an error, stole second, and then advanced to third on a ground out by Elijah Shreeve. A balk would score Waldner.
Cooper Bischoff laced a single to left field and Anderson Porisch followed with a resounding triple to bring Bischoff home. Anderson would then score on a single by brother Carter Porisch, giving Huron a 3-0 lead to open the game.
While Renner would respond with a run in the top of the fourth, Huron tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to lead 5-1 heading into the sixth inning.
Thats when the wheels came off for Huron. The first six Renner hitters reached base and they would score eight runs in the inning before all was said and done, closing out the final frames for a 9-5 victory over Huron.
Shreeve tossed five innings of clean baseball, but struggled to open the sixth and was removed before recording an out. Overall, his line was five innings with seven runs allowed on nine hits and two walks while striking out two.
Anderson Porisch came in relief, allowing two runs over two innings on two hits and a walk, striking out two.
Carter Porisch was the lone Huron hitter with multiple hits, knocking out a double and a single. Waldner had a double, was hit by pitch, and stole a base while Bischoff had a single and was hit by pitch.
Anderson Porisch added a triple.
Shreeve led a strong Huron offensive attack in the second game, driving in six runs as Huron defeated Brandon Valley 12-6.
Huron flirted with a run-rule victory early on, leading 9-1 after five innings, but Brandon Valley would tack on five runs over the final two innings, runs that would end up being critical for Huron.
Nolan Stahly had a strong start, going six innings, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk, striking out three. Waldner closed out the game on the mound, struggling initially to find his location, but finishing out with two runs allowed in an inning of work on two hits and a walk with one strikeout.
Shreeve finished with a triple, a double, and two singles to pace the Tiger offense. He also stole a base. Waldner reached base four times with three singles and a walk while also stealing a base. Anderson Porisch had a pair of singles and a walk while Oakley Anderson had a triple, a walk, and was hit by pitch.
Carter Porisch had a triple and a single for Huron. Stahly had a pair of walks and a stolen base.
In the end, Renner swept through Pool C, leaving Huron at 2-1 among four teams who were 2-1 over the first three days of action, leaving the decision up to tie-breakers. Though the Tigers defeated Brandon Valley, Brandon Valley would claim the top wild card spot due to the least amount of runs allowed. Huron allowed 24 runs over the three games, three more than Sioux Falls Post 15, who claimed the final wild card spot.
Huron finished the season with a 21-11 record.
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