REDFIELD – Dell Rapids found ways to manufacture offense with and without hits Sunday night and now sits in the driver’s seat of the State B Legion Baseball Tournament. The Phils defeated Redfield 8-5 in a meeting of the last two undefeated squads and as a result has now punched their ticket to the championship game on Tuesday.

Dell Rapids scored three runs without a hit in the third inning to erase a one-run deficit and grab a lead it never lost.

“That’s one of our deals. We run the bases hard and we are a little aggressive at times,” said Dell Rapids coach Danny Miller. “It was something, we looked up and we had three runs and no hits and you’re kind of like well, you take what you get.”

The Phils then took a commanding lead with five runs in the fourth inning. This time they had five hits in the frame including a two-run single by Brayden Pankonen.

Redfield coach Tommy Gregg noted that Dell Rapids started both key innings with production from the bottom of the lineup.

“Sometimes those guys at the bottom, they kind of make it go,” Gregg said. “When you have two good teams, that’s maybe where you look to win games is down in the seven, eight, nine. That got them going, so you’ve got guys on and then their horses come up, they make you pay.”

Nolan Gall had not given up a hit through the first three innings, but a few walks and errors did not help his cause.

“I thought when Nolan threw strikes, they didn’t beat him around,” Gregg said. “He’s good. He’s got stuff. He just didn’t maybe hit a couple of spots.”

Eli Morrissette came on in relief and did not give up a run in the last 2 and 2/3 innings.

“Eli came in and did a phenomenal job,” Gregg said. “He just gave us a chance. He picked up where Nolan left off.”

Meanwhile, Redfield kept chipping away at the deficit. Peyton Osborn drove in a run in the fifth on a single, and Redfield scored two more runs in the sixth, one coming in on a sacrifice fly by Morrissette.

Miller knew that Redfield would not go away quietly.

“They’re a really good team. They’re a well-coached team. They’ve got good team leadership. You hear it out on the field,” Miller said. “You know they’re going to fight. That’s kind of every Redfield team you ever play. They’re always scrappy and they always fight.”

However, the host squad could never get over the hump and as a result will now have to win three games in a row in order to win the state title. First up is an elimination game encounter with Tabor at 4 this afternoon.

“To win it, we’re probably going to have beat some of the blue bloods,” Gregg said. “We gave it our all tonight. Now our kids can’t hang their heads. We have to bounce back and go.”

Dell Rapids faces Elk Point-Jefferson around 6 this evening. Regardless of what happens, the Phils will be playing for a state championship on Tuesday.

“We feel good about being in the championship,” Miller said. “We still know no matter what, we’re going to have a tough road ahead of us.”

Dell Rapids 003 500 0 – 8 7 2

Redfield 011 012 0 – 5 4 3

Tad Tjaden, Brayden Pankonen (6) and Treyse Eastman; Nolan Gall, Eli Morrissette (5) and Keaton Rohlfs. 2B – Redfield, Peyton Osborn.