Canova wins first-round showdown of top-ranked teams at state amateur

['Marcus Traxler Is The Assistant Editor', "Sports Editor For The Mitchell Republic. A Past Winner Of The State'S Outstanding Young Journalist Award", 'The South Dakota Sportswriter Of The Year', "He'S Worked For The Newspaper Since", 'Covers A Wide Variety Of Topics. A Minnesota Native', 'Traxler Can Be Reached At Mtraxler Mitchellrepublic.Com.'] Mitchell Daily Republic | Mitchell, South Dakota 2026-08-09 02:16:36

MITCHELL — The Canova Gang was the last team from the Cornbelt League’s district tournament to make the Class B state amateur baseball tournament. The contest was a matchup between two of the final eight teams from the 2025 state tournament and two of the top-six teams in the final amateur baseball poll earlier this season, with Canova at No. Canova's Luke Koepsell throws a pitch during the first round of the Class B state amateur baseball tournament on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026 at Cadwell Park. “He showed a lot of control and poise for us to get off to a good start in the state tournament.” “To have that zero up there in the hit column, that’s always a big deal in the state tournament,” Gassman said.