BROOKINGS, S.D. (KELO) — Renner entered the Class ‘A’ state tournament as the number three seed in the eight-team field. After five days, a 10-inning marathon, a suspended game and five wins, the Royals can call themselves the champions following an 8-0 win over Brookings for the title.
In Renner’s first inning of the tournament, the Royals plated five runs only to see that advantage disappear, eventually ending in a 7-6, 10-inning walkoff victory over Yankton. The next night, they faced Brookings, and only played an inning and a half before the game was suspended for the night and resumed the following morning because of weather.
“That first game obviously was a little scary,” Renner catcher Sullivan Schlimgen said. “We jumped out ahead right away and then kind of lost focus there for a little bit. And I think that was a really important moment for us throughout the whole tournament to stay on them, stay energetic. And then that delay staying overnight here instead of going back home, I think really helped us as a team. We just stayed together. We bonded together. Ultimately, we made memories to last a lifetime.”
Throughout all the adversity, early in the tournament, Runner entered Saturday with an opportunity to write its own story.
“You’re one game away from etching yourself into history in the South Dakota record books,” Renner head coach Isaac Struck said. “We talked to him today about our first practice of the year. This is going to be a season to remember good, bad or ugly. Go write your own story. Go make something out of it and finish it the way you want it to.”
The championship marks the Royals third crown in the last six years.
“To win three in six years is pretty special for this program, especially where we started and where we are now,” Struck said. “These guys, I love them. I’ll tell that to anybody. I love these guys, and they’re as much of a part of this as every group that’s walked through that door in the years past.”
Schlimgen was named tournament MVP. Renner now heads off to the Central Plains Regional, which begins Wednesday.
