Department of SD Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Announces Results of the 2023 South Dakota VFW Youth Baseball State Tournaments

Sioux Falls (September 11, 2023) – Department of SD VFW Baseball Chairman, Danny Frisby-Griffin, released the results of the Program’s very successful 2023 SD VFW Youth Baseball State Tournament Season. During the six weeks of the season, approximately 7 July to 13 August, 179 teams and 2692 players participated in 25 regional/best 2-of-3 games and 10 state tournaments across the five age divisions and two classes.

SD VFW Baseball worked with their hosts as well as the local communities to ensure the best possible tournament experiences for our teams and fans. Again, this year we had SD VFW Official Baseballs with our logo available to our tournament hosts. We continued to innovate with Host Tournament Directors to provide live feed and added a Twitter page to our social media activity. VFW Baseball will be making some rule adjustments that were discussed and voted on at the Annual VFW Baseball Meeting August 20, 2023, at the VFW Post, Madison, SD.

The Department of SD VFW and VFW Baseball would like to congratulate all our champions and qualifiers for a great summer of baseball.

SD VFW Baseball 8U Gold Bracket was played in West Central (Humboldt), SD, July 7-9, 2023:
Champion: West Central Rebels
Runner Up: Parkston
3rd Place: Madison
4th Place: Brandon Valley
2023 SD VFW Baseball Vern Lind Sportsmanship Award: Bon Homme

SD VFW Baseball 8U Silver Bracket was played in West Central (Humboldt), SD, July 7-9, 2023:
Champion: Scotland/Menno
Runner Up: Canton
3rd Place: Milbank
4th Place: Dell Rapids Red
2023 SD VFW Baseball Vern Lind Sportsmanship Award: Scotland/Menno

Class A 10U was played in West Central (Humboldt), SD, July 14-16, 2023:
Champion: Lennox Zens
Runner Up: Madison Bulls
3rd Place: Tri-Valley Mustangs
4th Place: Wagner
2023 SD VFW Baseball 10U Class A Sportsmanship Award: Beresford

Class A 12U was played in Vermillion, SD, July 7-9, 2023:
Champion: Dell Rapids
Runner Up: Madison Baseliners
3rd Place: Lennox
4th Place: SFC Chargers
2023 SD VFW Baseball Benton Howe Sportsmanship Award: Lake County Crushers

Class A 14U was held in Elk Point-Jefferson, SD, July 21-23, 2023:
Champion: West Central
Runner Up: Mobridge
3rd Place: Belle Fourche
4th Place: Tea Area
Consolation Champion: Vermillion
2023 VFW William Radigan Team Sportsmanship Award: Mobridge

Class A 16U was played in Beresford, SD, August 4-6, 2023:
Champion: Dell Rapids
Runner Up: Vermillion
3rd Place: Volga
4th Place: Tri-Valley Maroon
Consolation Champion: Madison Maroon
2023 Lou Thury Team Sportsmanship Award: Vermillion

Class B 10U was played in Parker, SD, July 14-16, 2023:
Champion: Bruce
Runner Up: Parker
3rd Place: Corsica-Stickney
4th Place: Bon Homme
2023 SD VFW Baseball 10U Class A Sportsmanship Award: Centerville

Class B 12U was played in Webster, SD, July 7-9, 2023:
Champion: Platte-Geddes
Runner Up: Emery
3rd Place: Parkston
4th Place: Britton
2023 SD VFW Baseball Benton Howe Sportsmanship Award: Platte-Geddes

Class B 14U was played in Corsica, SD, July 21-23, 2023:
Champion: Mount Vernon/Plankinton
Runner Up: Parkston
3rd Place: Freeman-Marion
4th Place: Platte Geddes
Consolation Champion: Clark Area
2023 VFW William Radigan Team Sportsmanship Award: Parkston

Class B 16U was played in Parkston, SD, Aug 4-6, 2023:
Champion: Parkston
Runner Up: Alexandria
3rd Place: Tyndall
4th Place: Scotland/Menno
Consolation Champion: Mount Vernon/Plankinton
2023 VFW Lou Thury Team Sportsmanship Award: Mount Vernon/Plankinton

SD VFW Baseball All Star Game and Showcase was held in Humboldt, SD, August 13, 2023. We were honored to have Dakota State University Head Baseball Coach Derrion Hardie and Assistant Coaches Dan Rutan and Quentin Evers manage the Class A and Class B Teams. The Class A players held on for a 5 to 1 win in our third All Star Game since 2004. Our 3rd annual player showcase was held in conjunction with the All Star Game. We had 50 Class A and B players participate in both the Showcase and All Star game. This was an increase of 2 players over our previous season Showcase and All Star Game.

“We celebrated our 64th year of VFW Baseball and we’re continuously learning and adjusting our program to ensure the players, families and coaches have a positive experience. The 3rd annual VFW 8U State Tournament was a challenge this year with 22 teams participating. We had a random, 3 game pre-bracket play to determine which division a team was placed in. This was the first SD VFW Baseball tournament where a team’s performance determined their division assignment as all teams played in the “win and move on” 8U State Tournament Bracket. The future of VFW Baseball in South Dakota is bright. However, we do have concerns about the health of SD baseball in general. We’re still trying to get all the major SD baseball organizations in the same room so we can work together for the future success of SD Baseball. We hope you will join us in 2024 at some of our events.”