Sports

Letcher Hawks host end of regular season games

By GameChanger Media and the SWJ Staff

The Letcher 14U Hawks had two games last week. They started on Monday, July 8, with a doubleheader in Canova. Although the 14U Hawks opened the scoring in the first inning with a wild pitch helping them score one run, they couldn’t keep up and ended the game with a 2-13 loss against the younger Canova Gang.

Rylan Eggleston began the game on the mound for Letcher. The starting pitcher surrendered three hits and 10 runs (four earned) over two and one-third innings, striking out four and walking four. 

Offensively, Mathias Lindgren led the Hawks 14U boys with one run batted in, and Will Simonds had two hits in two at bats.

The 14U Hawks had their second game of the week at home against Parkston. The Parkston Teeners started the scoring in the second inning when an error scored two runs, and they never let up, beating the Letcher 14U Hawks, 9-2.

Tyson Kokesh stepped on the hill first for the Hawks. He gave up three hits and four runs (two earned) over four innings, striking out six and walking five. 

On offense, Westen White paced the younger Letcher boys with two walks. Overall, the team had patience at the plate, piling up eight walks for the game. Eli White stole two bases out of the six stolen by the whole team.

The Letcher 16U Hawks just had one game last week in the doubleheader held with Canova on Monday. The 16U Hawks snatched the lead late in their game and ended the night with a 6-4 victory over the 16U Canova Gang. 

The Canova boys were the first to get on the board in the first inning, but the Hawks took the lead in the top of the fifth inning after Jaden Digman singled, and Oscar Anderson stole home, each scoring one run. The Letcher Hawks committed an error in the bottom of the fifth, which allowed the Canova 16U Gang to tie things up at two.

In the top of the seventh, Letcher broke up the tie when Digman singled, scoring one run. Then, a single by Grant Edwards followed to extend the 16U Hawks’ lead to 4-2. However, it wasn’t over, yet, because the Canova Gang tied it up at four in the bottom of the seventh. The game stayed tied at four into extra innings, until Payton Uecker singled, scoring two runs in the twelfth inning to gain the lead back for the Hawks and eventually win the game after 12 innings of play.

Digman pitched six innings for the 16U Hawks. The reliever allowed six hits and two runs, while striking out four and walking three. Parker Ettswold started the game on the mound for Letcher, surrendering four hits and one run over four innings, striking out six and walking three. 

Offensively, the Letcher 16U Hawks collected 16 hits in the game. Uecker and Bryce Larson were a force together in the lineup, as they each booked four hits while hitting back-to-back. Going four-for-six on the night, Uecker drove the middle of the lineup, leading Letcher with two runs batted in. Ettswold and Digman helped with multiple hits for the 16U Hawks.

The 14U fellas played their region tournament this week, starting on Monday, July 15. Results will be in next week’s issue. The 16U region tournament will be next week. There were no times or places listed at press time for this issue.

…See pictures in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!

The Sam F. Weller Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Richard F. Weller to honor his father Sam F. Weller and his family, to give something back to the Mitchell community that gave Sam and his family the opportunity to succeed in business, and to provide grant money to charities for special projects that are beyond their normal budgets. 

Sam was a well-known figure in the Mitchell area in the mid-1900s and was heavily involved in civic activities and community improvement. Sam would be pleased to see the support and commitment to the Mitchell area continue in the name of the Sam F. Weller Family Foundation. As Dick Weller would say, the foundation was the goose that laid the golden egg and would perpetually reward the community that helped the Weller family succeed. More information about the Foundation can be found at https://www.samfwellerfamilyfoundation.org. 

In the last couple of years, the Letcher Youth Program has committed to improving the baseball/softball field in Letcher. In 2024, they received an $18,000 grant from the Sam F. Weller Family Foundation for improvements. The grant covered the replacement of the backstop, which included removal of the original backstop and chain link fencing, purchase and installation of 24’ tall poles, netting, a 3’ tall backstop wall which includes composite deck boards for the inside wall and tin on the fan side, and padding from the home dugout to the visitor dugout. 

The CorTrust Bank ALM (Artesian – Letcher – Mt. Vernon) Community Foundation is an organization formed to attract and distribute gifts of capital to charitable agencies for community betterment. It was initially funded by CorTrust Bank with a match from the South Dakota Community Foundation for the benefit of the Artesian, Letcher, and Mt. Vernon communities. The first grants were awarded in August 2000. Information on the ALM Foundation can be found at https://www.sdcommunityfoundation.org/local-impact/community-foundations/alm. 

In 2024, the Letcher Youth Program received a $2,500 grant from the CorTrust Bank ALM Community Foundation to purchase new cement for both dugouts at the ballpark.

Much of the work was completed by Letcher area volunteers, including some Teener baseball players.

The Letcher ballpark plays host to Little League baseball and Letcher Hawks VFW Teener baseball games. The Teener baseball team players represent all the towns in Sanborn County, and also have a couple of pick-up players from outside the county.

…See a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!

Each year SD 4-H selects top senior division shooters for the four-person teams to represent South Dakota at the National 4-H Shoot. This year Sanborn County was represented by Alex Schelske on the .22 Small Bore Rifle team. Sanborn County Shooting Sports Instructor Art Kneen was chosen to coach the National Air Pistol Team. Sanborn County Shooting Sports Instructor Audrey Kneen attended to assist each of the teams with equipment and supplies, and parents were also in attendance.

The National 4-H Shooting competition was held June 23-28 in Grand Island, Neb.  4-H youth from across the country competed in compound archery, recurve archery, air rifle, air pistol, .22 rifle, .22 pistol, shotgun, muzzleloading, and hunting skills. Each discipline has three days of competitive events, as well as practice opportunities for each event. 

As a state, South Dakota tied with Missouri for an amazing second place finish in the nation in the overall sweepstakes competition for all disciplines.

The group arrived in Grand Island on Sunday, June 23 and spent Monday with practice during the day and Opening Ceremonies that night.  Competition began on Tuesday.  

Overall, Schelske led his team with a solid individual performance, placing 15 of the 79 competitors, and the SD team placed sixth of the total 19 teams.

The week of Shooting Sports competition was definitely a success for Sanborn County and South Dakota.

…Read details and see a picture of the competition in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal.

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