The Brookings Bobcats varsity baseball team will host a South Dakota High School Baseball state tournament regional Friday and Saturday against Sioux Falls Roosevelt. The regional winner is determined through a best two-out-of-three series and will advance to the state tournament May 24-25 at Sioux Falls Stadium.

Games will begin at 6 p.m. Friday followed by the second game at 1 p.m. Saturday. A third game, if necessary, will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Other regional matchups include:

• No. 16 Sioux Falls Washington at No. 1 Harrisburg
• No. 9 Sturgis at No. 8 Tea
• No. 12 Rapid City Central at No. 5 Rapid City Stevens
• No. 13 Sioux Falls Jefferson at No. 4 Bishop O’Gorman
• No. 11 Yankton at No. 6 Pierre
• No. 14 Mitchell at No. 3 Brandon Valley
• No. 10 Sioux Falls Roosevelt at No. 7 Brookings
• No. 15 Huron at No. 2 Sioux Falls Lincoln

Ticket prices for this weekend’s games are $10 daily for adults and $5 daily for students. Kids 12 and younger will be admitted for free. Brookings High School students are also admitted for free, and high school activity cards and Brookings Friends of Baseball season passes will be accepted.

Oct. 4, 2023 — The American Legion of South Dakota voted last fall to award the 2024 South Dakota Senior Legion Class A State Tournament to American Legion Post 74 and Brookings Friends of Baseball.

The Brookings Post 74 Bandits will serve as the host team, and all games will be played at Bob Shelden Field, July 30-Aug. 3. It is the first time Brookings has hosted the tournament since 2015.

Brookings will play in the 7 p.m. game on July 30, the first day of the tournament.

“We are very excited to bring the state senior legion tournament back to Brookings for the first time in almost a decade,” Post 74 Legion Commander Russ Mileham said. “This is a prestigious event that showcases the best legion baseball South Dakota has to offer, and having them play at Bob Shelden Field will be a tremendous honor. We will certainly work hard to host a first-class event and provide everyone a memorable experience.”

The Post 74 Bandits finished as runner-up in the 2023 state tournament held in Yankton. The team opened the tournament with a 5-4 win over Rapid City Post 22 before dropping a second-round game to Sioux Falls Post 15 East, 14-4. The Bandits rebounded with wins over Renner Post 307, 13-2; Harrisburg, 12-9; and Sioux Falls Post 15 East again, 4-3. The Bandits dropped the championship game of the double-elimination tournament to Harrisburg, 3-2.

The team finished the year with a 29-17 overall record. The second-place finish at the state tournament was the highest for Post 74 since winning the championship in 2012. The 2022 team entered that state tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time ever before being eliminated in three games, finishing the year with a 31-13 overall record.

“We could not be more thrilled to host the 2024 state tournament and have the opportunity to compete on our own field,” senior legion head coach Carter Roach said. “This past year was a tremendous season for the program, and with many players returning from that team, our

expectations are to compete well throughout the entire year. Bob Shelden Field is a special place, and having the opportunity to play a state tournament there will be an amazing experience for everyone involved.”

Bob Shelden field was originally built in 1968 and hosts more than 150 games each year. The City of Brookings led a renovation project there in 2020 that resulted in nearly $3.2 million being invested in new dugouts, bullpens, lighting and a turf infield. The renovation was completed in April 2021.

The Wayne Hauschild Sportsmanship Award recognizes one member of each youth baseball team who displays sportsmanship, a positive attitude and a team-first mindset. It is considered the highest award a player can receive in Brookings Friends of Baseball’s youth programs, which include juniors (U7-U8), minors (U9-U10) and majors (U11-U12).

2023 Recipients

Majors

Mason Hegerfeld (Brookings Auto Mall)       

Lincoln Damm (Porter’s Bait Farm)

Warner Carroll (Johnson Garage Door)

Gavin Zwiebahmer (Dakota Insurance)

Jaxton Steen (Brookings Dental Clinic)

Minors

Jaxon Jones (Robby’s Auto Shop)

Nolan LaSage (Brookings Dental Clinic)

William Myers (Embrace Dentistry)

Zach Scheff (Dakota Unmanned Aerial)

Kaden Ziegeldorf (BankStar Financial)

Branch Otteson (Heartland Vet Clinic)

Ty Koch (BrookDak Properties)

Juniors

Grayson Berndt (Farmers Union Insurance)

Luke Koch (Adam Holtquist State Farm)

Ayden McKane (Robby’s Auto Shop)

Raymond Simmons (Brookings Family Dentistry)                 

Oliver Sand (Bisson Dental)

Hudson Johnson (Anderson Insurance)

Tyson Connot (Foerster Distributing)

Evan Krogman (605 Design)

Brenden Kuehl (First Bank & Trust)

Cody Olson (Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill)