Florence-Henry, Castlewood, Deuel and Elkton-Lake Benton make up half the field
FLORENCE — Wednesday turned out to be a history-making day for Haley Hlavacek, Elizabeth Reiter and the rest of their teammates on the Florence-Henry high school softball team.
The eighth-seeded Falcons held off ninth-seeded Hanson 5-2 in a Class B SoDak 16 game to punch their ticket to next week's state Class B tournament scheduled for May 30-June 1 at Aberdeen.
It's the first time a Florence team, and the first time since the Florence-Henry sports co-op was formed, has qualified for state in a true team sport.
"Yes, this is the first time," Florence-Henry senior first baseman Haley Hlavacek said.
It's not as if Florence-Henry squads have been close. Recent Falcons teams have dropped SoDak 16 games in volleyball and girls basketball in recent years, including a 49-45 setback to Hanson in a Class A SoDak 16 state-qualifying basketball game this March.
"It came down to the wire. Free throws," Hlavacek, a starter on Florence-Henry's girls basketball team, said. "We didn't want this one to go down to the wire."
The Falcons get over the hump
It also should be noted that this is the first Florence-Henry softball team. The Falcons didn't compete last spring in the initial season of softball as a sanctioned sport by the South Dakota High School Activities Association.
The team's head coach Bob Reiter has played fastpitch for nearly 40 years and has coached spring and summer teams in Watertown the past 15 years, including ones that featured his daughter Elizabeth.
Only a sophomore, Reiter came up big against Hanson. She allowed only four hits and fanned 13 batters in the complete-game win.
"I couldn't be more proud as a dad or a coach for what she's done and what the rest of the team has done this year," Bob Reiter said.
From the start, Florence-Henry just played better
Elizabeth Reiter did hit three batters and ended up walking three, but she only allowed two hits and walked one before appearing to be fatigued in the seventh.
Trailing 5-0, Hanson got on the board with a two-run homer by Paige Endorf and added a walk and a single to bring up the tying run before Reiter fanned the final batter to close out the win.
Hanson needed a better start. Florence-Henry's leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first hit a flyball to left that ended up dropping when two Hanson outfielders converted. Florence-Henry's home book ruled it a triple. Whether or not it was a hit or an error isn't the concern, it could have been an out and perhaps led to a scoreless inning.
Instead, Vavruska scored on a single by teammate by Allison Stark, who advanced to second on the play, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Hlavacek. The senior standout is hitting .675 this spring with 10 homers in 40 at-bats.
It stayed 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth when Emma Caulfield reached on a bunt single and moved to second on an errant throw. She scored on a clean double by Vavruka before Hlavacek added a two-run homer to right field with two outs.
"I've been playing slowpitch with ABRA in Watertown since the second grade but this has been my first year playing fastpitch," Hlavacek said. "I would have loved to have had more time playing fastpitch, but at least we get to go state this year."
The fifth-inning outburst proved even bigger when Hanson mounted in last-ditch comeback attempt in the seventh.
"This is the first time for a Florence team to make it to state. As a community, we're just boasting with pride that we were able to do that," Bob Reiter said.
A final wrap and what's ahead
Vavruska, Hlavacek and Andie Rislov each had two of Florence-Henry's eight hits off Hanson's Olivia Kayser, who didn't walk a batter and fanned 12 in six innings.
It just wasn't enough to overcome the slow start and some of the little things Hanson (11-6 overall) didn't do, at least not in comparison to the Falcons.
"One of the things I preach to my girls all the time is to make the plays that we should make," Reiter said. "I don't need any spectacular plays. Make the ones that we should make and good things will happen."
The Falcons (11-2) played errorless ball, ran the bases well, got some key hits and good pitching. If that continues, there could be more success next week at the state tourney for FlorenceHnery.
"At this stage of the game, I think any one of the top 10 or 11 teams could go there and win the state tourney," Reiter said before knowing the final eight qualifiers. "The way I figure it, we've got to beat the best to be the best so we're going to take it to whoever we play."
Fellow area teams Castlewood, Deuel and Elkton-Lake Benton also posted wins in Class B SoDak 16 games on Wednesday. Here's more on other state-qualifying games involving area Class B teams:
No. 2 Castlewood 14, No. 15 McCook Central-Montrose 4
CASTLEWOOD — Castlewood (15-4) earned a chance to defend its State B championship and also ended up as the No. 1 seed in next week's state tourney.
The Warriors pounded out 14 hits including home runs by Cydni Kudrna and Lilly Jacobsen. Jacobsen finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs and Kudrna 2-for-3.
SoDak 16 Softball, State Pairings: State Class AA, A and B tournament scheduled for May 30-June 1 at Aberdeen
Sophia Kudrna was 3-for-4 with a double, Bridgette Horn 2-for-3 with a double and Claire Horn 2-for-3 with a double and a triple. Claire Horn also scattered seven hits with seven strikeouts on the mound.
Ella DeKnikker went 3-for-3 with two doubles for McCook Central-Montrose (6-9).
No. 7 Deuel 6, No. 10 Redfield 4
CLEAR LAKE — Host Deuel (14-5) also earned a repeat trip to state by beating Redfield (7-8).
Katrina Hagberg smacked a two-run homer in the third inning and also tossed a two-hitter with 17 strikeouts fo the Cardinals. Eden Schiernbeck was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
Makayla Schulz doubled and Chloe Zens singled for the Pheasants.
No. 16 Elkton-Lake Benton 8, No. 1 Bon Homme 7
TYNDALL — Elkton-Lake Benton (7-10) took control with a six-run third inning and held off Bon Homme for the upset win.
ClassAA-A SoDak 16 Softball: Aberdeen Central (Class AA) and three area Class A schools come up short in SoDak 16
Kylie and Matti Ramlo split the pitching duties, combining for 10 strikeouts, and also collected two hits apiece for the Elks. Payton Kuehl went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Kenadee Kozak tallied two hits for Bon Homme (19-4).
No. 3 Alcester-Hudson 8, No. 14 Arlington 3
ALCESTER — Alcester-Hudson hit four homers in a five-run third inning to prevent Arlington from earning a repeat trip to state.
Alexis Gray hit a two-run homer and Emma Moeller, Delta Pies and and Elly Doering hit consecutive homers in the third for Alcester-Hudson (18-6). Emma Solberg and Jenna Manning each had three hits and Moeller, Doering and Sarah Ebert two each. Moeller also fired a four-hitter with 18 strikeouts.
Brenley Goebel and Madalyn Madsen each went 2-for-3 for Arlington (8-11). Addalyn Steffensen went the distance in the loss.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Highlights from area teams who played in Class B SoDak 16 softball games
