It was not the ending the Shelby Osceola Stromsburg Post #91 #296 #132 Senior Legion team was looking for. The Rebels were knocked out of the Class C state baseball tournament on Monday, falling 5-2 to DCB.-
Mickey Hoatson drove in his 100th career run on Sunday in the Rebel's 14-5 win over Valentine. Photos by Tara Urkoski
WISNER — In the end, it took a late rally by the defending state champion to end the Class C state baseball tournament for the Shelby Osceola Stromsburg Post #91 #296 #132 Senior Legion team.
DCB edged SOS in a 5-2 nail biter Monday night to give itself a chance to defend its state title later this week, with Syracuse, Malcolm and Battle Creek still around on Tuesday for semifinal play. The Rebels led 2-1 on a Pierce Branting RBI single in the top of the fourth inning before the winners tallied one in their half of the fourth, two more in the fifth and one in the sixth to put the game away.
Mickey Hoatson had led off the fourth with a single off winning pitcher Carter Noakes and scored on a single by Shayden Lundstrom to tie the game at 1-all. After a walk to Colin Wingard and a strikeout by Grady Belt, Branting’s single put SOS ahead 2-1, although Wingard was pegged at third base on a steal attempt to end the frame.
DCB produced three hits, including a run-scoring single by Noakes, to tie the contest at 2-all in the bottom of the fourth. Wingard (who finished the summer 7-2 with 83 strikeouts in 51 innings and a 1.92 ERA) battled to keep his team in the game, fanning six while scattering nine hits. But with two outs, SOS made an error and after Hoatson relieved Wingard, Nolan Hurt singled in a run to put DCB ahead and a passed ball gave the winners another run to extend the edge to 4-2.
After extending the lead to 5-2 in the sixth, Noakes allowed a Wingard single, but retired the final three SOS hitters as the Rebels ended the 2022 campaign with a 22-9 mark. Noakes beat Wingard for the second time this season, allowing four hits and fanning nine while going 3-for-3 at the plate.
On Sunday, SOS had advanced in the loser’s bracket by blowing out Valentine 14-5 as Hoatson drove in his 100th career run as a Senior Legion player, Branting produced three hits, and Wingard hit a grand slam homer and drove in six overall. Lundstrom moved to 4-0 on the mound with two scoreless innings, fanning three, while Connor Schnell and Kolton Neujahr finished the five-inning affair.
Monday’s loss, five players with four years of Senior Legion experience finished their careers, totaling 77 wins (147 including Junior Legion play). Wingard had an illustrious Senior Legion mound career, finishing with a 14-3 mark in 127 2/3 innings, fanning 181 hitters and allowing 38 earned runs for a 2.08 ERA (per 7 innings). He also hit .402 this season with a team-high six triples and 26 RBI, finishing with 64 career hits and 56 RBI to go with seven triples, three homers and a .310 batting mark.
Hoatson hit .352 this summer, with a team-high 33 runs, 21 RBI and 23 steals. For his Senior Legion career, he rapped 118 hits, drove in 100 runs, scored 88 more, stole 78 bases, and hit .345. He also tossed more than 30 innings as a pitcher in each of the past two summers, pitching both as a starter and in relief.
Branting hit .286 and had a .465 on-base percentage, with 24 RBI and 24 walks in 2022. He pitched 32 innings, fanning 33 and going 3-3 with two saves, with a career 6-5 mark. As a hitter, he’s driven in 65 runs and produced 69 hits for his Senior Legion career, batting .285.
Belt hit just .254 this summer, but had 20 RBI and was hit by 20 pitches, with a 505 on-base percentage. Having been plucked by more than 70 pitches and blocked hundreds of balls as the team’s catcher, he’s clearly earned the most bruises, but 87 RBI, 82 hits and 55 runs scored with a .279 career batting average are statistics of a pretty productive career.
On Saturday at Wahoo’s Sam Crawford Stadium, Wingard, Hoatson, Branting and Belt will play in a Senior Legion All-Star game. Konnor Batenhorst also finished his career after being a part-time starter for the Rebels in the outfield. In previous seasons, his six wins on the mound were most valuable for the SOS pitching staff.
Other statistical leaders for SOS included Urkoski with a .410 batting average and 41 hits, and Lundstrom with 28 steals. Kelby Neujahr was also impressive, batting .283 with a .441 on-base percentage.
Coaches for SOS this season included Jeff Kuhnel, Tony Belt, Chris Whitmore, Justin Rodrigues, Craig Pinley, Bailey Belt and Max Hoatson. Kuhnel will end his coaching career after 15 years with the Rebels. A school board member at SRC schools, he has been a football coach with the Huskies after earning All-State honors in basketball at his alma mater.
