The big inning took center stage in the opening round of the inaugural Class A state softball tournament, which kicked off Thursday at Players Softball Complex.

Three of the four contests featured run-rule victories by the top seeds, while fifth-seeded Tea Area provided the day’s dramatics with a 5-4 victory over No. 4 Madison that narrowly beat an extended weather delay.

Other finals included a 21-5, 3-inning win by top-seeded Dell Rapids over No. 8 Lennox, a 16-1 walk-off in the fourth inning by No. 2 West Central over No. 7 Beresford, and a 15-5 win by Dakota Valley over Elk Point-Jefferson.

Tea Area’s win over Madison was an emotional roller-coaster for both squads. Emersyn Erck broke a 1-1 stalemate with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning.

Madison responded with three tying runs in the bottom half of the sixth, including a squeeze bunt with two outs in the inning that plated the tying run.

Tea Area came back with an unearned run in the seventh to take the lead, and with the tying run aboard in the bottom half of the frame and the go-ahead run at the plate, Erck collected a fly ball in deep center field to end the game.

“All week we worked on visualization,” said Tea Area coach Emmie Uitts. “We knew who we were getting in the first round. All week in practice, we visualized the Bulldogs on the other side. I think that helped us a lot and helped us stay calm, especially since we lost to them in a heartbreaker in the regular season. We knew what we were up against, and we had a plan … and they did a great job sticking to it.”

Erck, Kalli Boom and Jillian Arp finished with two hits apiece for the Titans.

“(Erck) had a great game,” Uitts said. “She’s had a great season. But it was every single at bat that went into it, learning from it and learning from each other and just never giving up.”

Earlier, top-seeded Dell Rapids opened the tournament in emphatic fashion, recording five straight extra-base hits to begin the game, ending the top half of the first inning with eight runs on eight hits and three Lennox errors.

The Quarriers never looked back, racing to a 21-5 win in three innings 

Dell Rapids followed the first inning with an even bigger outburst in the second, plating 13 runs in that frame. All told, the Quarriers tallied 21 hits, including eight doubles, two triples and three home runs.

Claire Wynja and Kylee Fiddelke drove in four runs each for Dell Rapids. Katie Scherff plated three more.

Carlee Gabriel drove in two runs for Lennox with a pinch-hit double in the third inning. That hit marked the only extra-base knock amongst six hits for the Orioles.

In the night session, it was West Central taking care of business against Beresford. The Trojans, who scored at least one run in every team at-bat, broke things open with an eight-run second inning.

Junior Emillee Stofferahn, who got the start on the mound for the Trojans, also finished off the game with a walk-off 2-run home run that scored Caitlyn Hoff.

“My goal is to just get base hits,” Stofferahn said. “Get on base and see if we can get line drive doubles or the base hits that we need.”

Hoff, who drove in two runs herself with a bases-clearing triple, scored four times in the game despite having just one hit.

“Just one base at a time,” said Hoff. “And really push it. See how far I can go. I like to push my own limits and push myself. Most of all, we have teammates that like to push each other. Just knowing I have people that have my back.”

Stofferahn gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out seven in her mound performance.

“Leadership comes from the mound,” she said. “My team trusts me and I trust my defense. We trust each other. Having the backup and the defense that I have is great.”

Dakota Valley wrapped up the action with a late surge that propelled the Panthers past Elk Point-Jefferson. The Panthers scored 14 of their 15 runs in the final three innings, highlighted by an eight-run fourth that stretched a narrow 5-4 lead into a comfortable 13-4 margin.

Madelyn Munch and Avry Trotter finished with three hits apiece for Dakota Valley. Munch and Brennan Trotter accounted for seven RBIs between them.

Action resumes today with the consolation semifinals at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Championship semifinal action is set for 3 and 5:30 p.m.

Dell Rapids 8(13)0 – 21 21 3

Lennox 104 – 5 6 7

Katie Kvigne, Lexi Scherff (3) and Rileigh Foster, Emma Lanpher (3). Alicen Oltmanns and Macy Wallenstein. 2B – Dell Rapids, Lexi Ingalls 2, Claire Wynja 2, Rileigh Foster 2, Kylie Lebahn, Kylee Fiddelke; Lennox, Carlee Gabriel. 3B – Dell Rapids, Liz Price, Fiddelke. HR – Dell Rapids, Katie Scherff, Wynja, Jaycee Tebay.

Tea Area 001 030 1 – 5 7 1

Madison 100 003 0 – 4 8 4

Addisyn Hansen and Kalli Boom. Amanda Vicanti and Evie Lurz. 2B – Tea Area, Jillian Arp. 3B – Tea Area, Hansen.

Beresford 000 1 – 1 2 8

West Central 182 5 – 16 16 1

Brenna Dann and Keely Merrigan. Emillee Stofferahn and Hanna Raethz. 2B – West Central, Elisabeth Miller 2, Stofferahn, Raethz. 3B – West Central, Caitlyn Hoff. HR – West Central, Stofferahn.

Elk Point-Jefferson 000 41 – 5 7 0

Dakota Valley 104 82 – 15 15 1

Danica Torrez, Regan Rasmussen (4) and Hannah Nearman. Emma Wiese, Brennan Trotter (5) and Ashlynn Stusse. 2B – Dakota Valley, B. Trotter, Madelyn Munch. 3B – Elk Point-Jefferson, Grace Schuh.