The Watertown Post 17 and Aberdeen Smittys' American Legion Baseball teams are off to a combined 35-8 start and nobody should be surprised.
Both Watertown and Aberdeen dropped their club high school baseball teams a few years back and have opted to just start playing Legion baseball earlier. Post 17 opened in late April and the Smittys in early May.
"Our pitching has really been the key factor to the success that we've had to start the year," Watertown Post 17 head coach Ryan Neale said. "When you combine what our pitchers have done with the effort on the defensive side of the as well you're going to give yourself a lot of chances to win baseball games."
Here's more on those two teams along with other area American Legion and amateur baseball teams this summer:
Post 17 wraps up busy three-day stretch
Post 17 played three doubleheaders in three days during a stretch that ended Thursday with a home twinbill against Huron at Watertown Stadium. Watertown (23-5) traveled to Yankton on Tuesday and Sioux Falls West on Wednesday.
Post 17 fell 1-0 to Yankton in the second game of their doubleheader and also lost to Huron 4-2 in Thursday's nightcap. Watertown posted 8-1, 12-1, 11-0 and 17-7 wins in the other four games.
This Post 17 team features players who have had plenty of success all the way up through the Watertown Baseball Association programs and is certainly playing (as expected) like one of the best Class A teams in the state this summer.
South Dakota State commit Kaden Rylance opened the stretch by tossing a four-hitter with nine strikeouts against Yankton and then drove in five runs with a three-run homer and two-run double in Thursday's opener against Huron. Marcus Rabine also homered as part of a 3-for-3 performance.
In the sweep over West, Post 17 won both games in five innings. Nate Briggs went 4-for-4 with a triple and Rabine 3-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in the 12-1 win and Mitch Olson 3-for-3 with two RBIsin the 11-0 win. Nash Berg and Will Engstrom each had complete-game wins.
That's the thing about this team. It has many pitchers and many players who can do damage. Post 17 hosts Fargo Post 400 on Sunday at 1 p.m.
"In order to maintain the success we've had to start the year, you have to have depth at all positions and with this group, we feel like we have that to compete all summer long," Neale said. "This is a team that we really like a lot and are looking forward to the the second half of the year."
The Smittys are solid again
Aberdeen knocked off Watertown in a best-of-three series to qualify for state last summer and returned many of those players, including some super seniors back from college. One of those is third baseman Casey Vining, who is batting .409 with three homers and 23 RBIs.
Cooper Eisenbeisz is batting .535 with 20 RBIs, Drew Salfrank .452, Jackson Welke .429, Brendan Livermont .375 and Phillip Zens .351. Welke is also 3-0 on the mound and Grant Beyer 2-0.
The Smittys, now coached by former Post 17 player Nathan Gonnelly, dropped a doubleheader in Watertown in mid-May. Watertown also won early last year before Aberdeen got even late.
Both Aberdeen and Watertown seem capable of getting to host state-qualiyfing playoff series this summer, but that stuff will have to get all sorted out.
Other Area Legion Teams
Many of the other Watertown and Aberdeen area American Legion Baseball teams have either just started their seasons or will shortly.
You can follow what many of the area baseball teams are doing on an app called Game Changer (gc.com).
Here's a pretty complete list of the area teams and their records so far. Not all teams are on Game Changer. The list includes Volga (0-0), Big Stone City (2-0), Sisseton (0-2), Groton Post 39 (2-3), Castlewood Post 250 (0-1), Clark-Willow Lake Senators (1-1), Milbank Post 9 (0-0), Redfield Post 92 (0-2), Warner-Ipswich-Northwestern or W.I.N. (0-1), Claremont (1-0), Webster (0-1) and Lake Norden-Badger.
Amateur Baseball:Lakers conclude 19-4 season one game short of their first semifinal appearance since 2000
Whose fielding amateur baseball teams?
The Eastern Dakota League includes the Castlewood Ravens (3-2), Clark Traders (1-2), Milbank Firechiefs (5-0), Ramona Express (0-5), Elkton Snappers, Lake Norden Lakers and Volga Cormorants (1-1).
The Firechiefs again feature former Dakota Wesleyan University pitcher Dom Boerger, who drove in five runs with a double and a homer and fanned 18 batters in seven innings of relief in a 12-4 win over Clark on Sunday.
Lake Norden, under veteran manager Burt Tulson, again has a mix of veterans and some talented younger players. Jordon Johnson fanned 13 batters in a 12-1 win over the Ravens on Wednesday. Brothers Jackson, Mitchell and Dawson (still a Legion player) each played for the Lakers. Dawson drove in five runs with two homers.
The Lakers went 19-4 last season and reached the state Class B quarterfinals for the first time since 2005.
After many years as a Class A team with a ton of Watertown players, the Castlewood Ravens and Monarchs combined forces and will feature mostly Castlewood players while moving down to Class B. The team does feature former South Dakota State infielder Gus Steiger of Watertown, who played years of minor league baseball in the Cincnnati Reds organization. He can play.
Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar is now the only area team in Class A. Circus opened its season with a 23-1 win over the Faulkton Hitmen on Wednesday, led by Josh Steinwandt's four hits and six RBIs. The squad's roster includes many of the same players who have sparked a run of success these past few years.
Other Aberdeen area or Northern Plains League teams include Groton Locke Electric (1-1), Northville Merchants (9-2), Redfield Dairy Queen (4-0) and Faulkton.
Redfield has a number of recent graduates from Redfield's successful high school and Legion program including triplets Bennett, Owen and Peyton Osborn.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
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