Mudcats, Alexandria finish with 13-2 records, share league title

With Alexandria’s 19-9 win over the Platte Killer Tomatoes in Sunshine League action Friday night, the league championship became a shared title this year.

Alexandria and the Parkston Mudcats each finished the year with 13-2 league records, while Dimock/Emery came in third with an 11-4 record. Friday night’s game wrapped up Sunshine League regular-season play.

“This is the fourth straight year we’ve had at least the share of the league championship,” Parkston Mudcats manager Dave Roth said. “But it was important for us because we got the number one seed for districts. It’s going to be a tough tournament this year.”

Eight of the nine Sunshine League teams play in the District 5B tournament, which has its first-round games start Thursday.

The entire tournament is being held in Parkston and the top four teams qualify for the Class B state tournament, played in Mitchell Aug. 1-12. The lone team in the Sunshine League that plays in the Class A playoffs is the Mitchell Mad Dogs, finishing with a 2-13 league record.

Although the Mudcats and Alexandria shared the league title, Parkston earned the No. 1 seed in the district tournament because of head-to-head play against the Angels. The Mudcats defeated Alexandria in both games they played this year. The Parkston Mudcats host the Parkston Bullheads in the first round of the district tournament at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

The other first-round game Thursday night has the fourth-seeded Parkston Rock Bass (9-6) hosting fifth-seeded Mount Vernon (7-8) at 6:30 p.m. On Friday, third-seeded Dimock/Emery — which won the District 5B championship last year — plays sixth-seeded Platte. First pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 6:30 p.m.

The final first-round game is Alexandria vs. Corsica/Stickney at 8:30 p.m. on Friday. Corsica/Stickney finished its league record at 3-12.

Alexandria player/manager Chris Marek said he’s pleased his team was able to have a successful regular season and share the league title.

“I think we came together nicely this year,” Marek said. “We maximized the talent we have. … Next, we want to qualify for state, and from there, we would like to win the district tournament. But goal number one is to get the two wins we need to qualify for the state tournament.”

Alexandria 19, Platte 9

(8 innings)

ALEXANDRIA — Jordan Gau picked up the win in relief to help Alexandria defeat Platte 19-9 in eight innings on the 10-run rule Friday in Sunshine League amateur baseball action.

Gau threw 4 1/3 innings and allowed two runs and had six strikeouts. Corey Marek got the start for Alexandria. He threw 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs, one of which was earned.

Offensively, Cole Wenande was 4-for-5 with two doubles, Peyton Smith had a single, a double and a triple and John Greicar had three hits.

Platte’s Audie Kuipers took the loss. He threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing 13 runs and striking out four. Mike Severson was the only Platte player with multiple hits, recording two singles.

Both teams play in the District 5B tournament next.

Final Sunshine League standings

1. Parkston Mudcats: 13-2

1. Alexandria: 13-2

3. Dimock/Emery: 11-4

4. Parkston Rock Bass: 9-6

5. Mount Vernon: 7-8

6. Platte: 5-10

7. Corsica/Stickney: 3-12

8. Mitchell Mad Dogs 2-13

9. Parkston Bullheads: 1-7

Tags: amateur baseball, sports, platte, alexandria, parkston, updates