Wynot State tourney run ends in semifinals

MITCHELL, S.D. — An incredible run to the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association (SDABA) 2020 state title came to a crashing halt for the Wynot Expos Saturday.

But that didn’t take away from a memorable journey for the Expos who advanced to the semifinals of the Class B tournament in Mitchell after finishing fifth in the South Central District and ultimately capturing the second seed out of the tournament.

Wynot finished the season with a 14-0 defeat to the Canova Gang in the semifinals and wrap up a 13-12 season which saw the Expos win five of six postseason games before bowing out.

Even more impressive was the Expos winning its first three SDABA tournament games without allowing a run before the big bats from Canova broke through.

“We competed really hard and defensively and pitching really came together,” Wynot manager Lee Heimes said. “But as far as what Canova did, they found some holes and the balls seemed to bounce the opposite way of where we were going.

“Our pitchers and our catcher worked really well together. We didn’t give up free passes.”

Wynot managed only two hits in the elimination loss and succumbed to a 9-run sixth inning by the Canova squad who led 5-0 heading into the vital frame.

Wynot won Friday’s quarterfinal, 10-0 over Salem – the team that eliminated Crofton in the first round in seven innings.

Jalen Wieseler had a teamhigh four RBI while he, Dawson Sudbeck, Jackson Sudbeck, Dylan Lehr and Heimes all had two hits to spark the rout.

Wynot pitcher Dain Whitmire threw 101 pitches over the seven innings, striking out three and scattering six hits to handcuff Salem all night long.

“Dain came out and had a little nerves at first, but then we made some plays behind him and he settled in,” Heimes said. “After that he threw very well. This was his first year of amateur baseball and I love how he kept wanting to learn and improving. He’s going to be a fun pitcher.”

Two days earlier, the Wynot bats were limited to six hits but six Clark errors helped the Expos to a 6-0 win in the round of 16 matchup.

Ryan Heimes had a teamhigh two hits while Landon Wieseler had two RBI to also lead the team.

The Expos got two runs in the sixth and three more runs in the eighth inning to pull away.

Jalen Wieseler went the distance on the bump striking out two and only allowing five hits to record what would be the second of the three consecutive shutouts to start the tournament.

Jackson Sudbeck pitched a doughnut in the first round, 2-0 win over Elk Point.

“Jalen did a really good job,” Heimes said. “Every time they had a chance to score, he came up with the big pitch to get us out of there. He is a big-time competitor and he enjoys that moment.”

Now, the hope is that the team can have a chance to go back to the old normal and a traditional summer of play after this one has been hijacked by the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken a hold of the planet.

“We have a lot of young guys coming back who got some experience coming down here,” Heimes said. “We just have to keep learning through it because we have a bright future ahead of us.”

The Expos won the Sportsmanship Award for the Class B tournament and Heimes was given the Mister Hustle Award which was presented to him on Saturday.

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