The 13-14 year old teener baseball team traveled to Redfield for a doubleheader on Wednesday, June 26. After a 12-day layoff due to a canceled game, the boys were ready to get back in action.
In game one, the teeners lost 14-5.  But the score did not indicate how close the game was.  In the third inning, Redfield scored eight of their fourteen runs.
“Too many walks and mistakes led to cheap runs,” said coach Nathan Hainy, “I thought we were as good as they were except that one inning. We just need to work on staying focused the entire game.”
Clayton Dornbush started pitching for the teeners and was relieved by Trey Weber in the lengthy third inning. Jon Witte had three hits in game one, including a double. Drew Olinger and Gunnar Brandenburg both had two hits, while Noah Hainy, Wyatt Feistner and Coy Fastnacht all had one hit.
Game two saw the boys lose 11-1. They loaded the bases in the first inning but couldn’t score. The rest of the game went the same way. The boys would get scoring chances but just couldn’t capitalize on them. Wyatt Feistner and Noah Hainy teamed up to do the pitching. They were only able to get three hits this game.  Jordan Linn, Shay Swenson, and Noah Hainy collected those hits.
“We lost our enthusiasm and energy in game two and got beat soundly.  But each time out we gain valuable experience and do more and more things the right way.  We could be tough to beat in the future,” stated coach Hainy.

For the first time in several years, Wessington Springs is fielding a 13-14 year old baseball team. Fifteen kids from Wessington Springs and Woonsocket have been working towards learning the ins and outs of playing on the big baseball field.
The boys started the year playing Redfield on May 28. They lost the game 13-1 but gained important experience as this was the first time for most of the kids playing by standard baseball rules. Wyatt Feistner and Trey Weber combined to do the pitching.  John Witte, Trey Weber, Wyatt Feistner, Drew Olinger and Chandler Flowers all had a hit for the W/WS teeners.
Next the boys traveled to White Lake to play a doubleheader.  In game one, Coy Fastnacht, Gunnar Brandenburg and Clayton Dornbush all took turns on the mound. All three were on the mound for the first time throwing from 60 feet and had trouble throwing strikes. The walks led to a loss of 21-5. Trey Weber, Wyatt Feistner, Jordan Linn, Chandler Flowers and Noah Hainy had hits for W/WS offensively.
The second game saw the boys lose again. This time starting pitcher Noah Hainy threw strikes but gave up a bunch of hits to a good offensive club from Kimball/White Lake. Wyatt Feistner relieved Noah and finished the game.  Feistner and Jeremy Howard provided the only hits in the 17-3 loss.
Last Friday, the W/WS teeners were back at home for a doubleheader with Chamberlain. Game one found Trey Weber back on the mound for his second appearance of the year. He was much better this time around and allowed only five runs in three innings. The offense was vastly improved and scored 15 runs to give the boys their first win of the year. John Witte paced the offense with two hits, including a double. Noah Hainy, Coy Fastnacht and Jordan Linn each added hits as well.
The second game didn’t go quite as well as the first, ending in a 23-13 loss. John Witte, Gunnar Brandenburg, Noah Hainy and Clayton Dornbush each took turns on the mound for the W/WS teeners. John Witte had three hits, including a double. Trey Weber, Noah Hainy, Coy Fastnacht, Shay Swenson and Nathan Huisman added one hit each.
Despite the losses, coaches Nathan Hainy and Rod Weber are happy with the improvements the kids are making.
“We had so many kids that had not played on the big field before. Through the games and practices, they are adjusting pretty well. Once our pitchers get more comfortable on the mound, we will be more consistent and win a few more ballgames,” said coach Hainy.