Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
After each inning against the Hazen Post 189 Astros, the Post 30 Black Sox along with head coach Jake Bilden gathered in a huddle to talk over what happened during the inning, and what to do in the coming innings. Photo by Erik Gjovik.
During the game against the Hazen Post 189 Astros on Thursday, July 27, Post 30 right fielder Jackson Schumacher is found diving for a pop fly sent into his territory. Photo by Erik Gjovik.
Black Sox third baseman Alex Weisenburger winds up to throw the ball to first baseman Brody Weisenburger during the game against the Post 189 Astros. Photo by Erik Gjovik.
Thomas Allmaras rounds second base during the game against the Post 98 Red Sox. Allmaras scored one run for the Black Sox during that game. Photo by Nathan Price.
Brody Weisenburger extends his arm to snag the ball to earn an out against the Post 98 Red Sox on Friday, July 28. Photo by Nathan Price.
After advancing to first base, Skye Kramlich (left) and Post 79's Hunter Hagler (right) look toward the umpire to see if Kramlich was deemed out or safe. Photo by Nathan Price.
Haydon Meier leads off of first base during the game against the Post 98 Red Sox. Photo by Nathan Price.
Keaton Cudworth makes contact with a pitch during the game against the Post 189 Astros. Throughout the entire tournament, Cudworth earned two hits and two RBIs. Photo by Erik Gjovik.
Post 30 catcher Luke Yri runs toward a Red Sox runner that got caught up in a pickle between third base and home plate. Yri, third baseman Alex Weisenburger and pitcher Skye Kramlich all contributed in tagging him out. Photo by Nathan Price.
The New Rockford Post 30 Black Sox began their summer season with three consecutive losses, and seemed destined to replicate the results of their disappointing spring.
But the Black Sox didn't give up, they continued to battle and they were rewarded by winning three of their next four matchups – suddenly, they'd become the hottest team entering the District 4 tournament on July 17.
However, all of that momentum was soon halted by the Carrington Post 25 Cardinals, who breezed to a dominant 13-0 victory in the tournament's first round. And it seemed the Black Sox were down for the count.
But once again, Post 30 refused to stop fighting. They rebounded with impressive victories over Kidder County and South Border in the losers' bracket, securing an improbable return to the Class B Legion Tournament after 20 years.
Their season had already been a story of coming back after facing adversity, and that trend would continue at the Legion Tournament in Carrington on July 26 - 29.
Post 30 were undoubtedly the tournament underdogs, but in the first round they gave the Cando Post 79 Bearcats a run for their money. The game was a low-scoring affair as both teams went with great starting pitchers: Keaton Cudworth for Post 30 and Parker Simon for Post 79.
However, the Sox found themselves down by two runs entering the sixth inning, as two Cando batters had found home plate in the previous frame.
After a scoreless sixth for both teams, the top of the seventh was the Sox' last hope to start their first state tournament in two decades with an upset victory – and that's exactly when they finally generated some offense.
A walk from Brody Weisenburger and a double from Keaton Cudworth allowed Luke Yri to knock in the Sox' first run with a ground ball that was mishandled by a Post 79 infielder.
A subsequent walk then loaded the bases with two outs, but the come-from-behind victory would fall one run short as a strikeout ended the inning and secured a win for Cando.
It was a tough loss, but Post 30 played well and certainly looked like they belonged among the best teams in the state.
Waiting for them in the losers' bracket were the Hazen Post 189 Astros, who'd narrowly lost to Thompson Post 181 in the first round.
Hazen were clear favorites, and they looked the part as they took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning against Post 30.
But the Sox responded with four runs of their own in the subsequent frame, courtesy of RBI singles from Connor Knatterud and Luke Yri, as well as a bases-loaded walk induced by Brody Weisenburger.
However, Post 189 took advantage of Black Sox' miscues to retake the lead in later innings, and entering the bottom of the seventh, Post 30 were facing a 6-4 deficit.
And with their tournament lives on the line, the Sox came up clutch.
There were already two outs in the frame when Brody Weisenburger stepped to the plate, but walks issued to Jackson Schumacher and Thomas Allmaras meant there was a runner in scoring position.
After looking at the first pitch for a strike, Weisenburger shot an RBI line drive into center field, which scored Schumacher to bring the Sox within one.
Up next to the plate was Cudworth, who's been a clutch hitter for Post 30 all season long. He had just one job when he stepped into the batters' box, and he wasted no time getting it done.
He swung at the first pitch he saw and shot it into center field, easily scoring Allmaras from third base, and allowing Weisenburger to cross home plate after an error from Hazen's center fielder.
It was a come-from-behind walk-off upset victory over a tough opponent, and nothing could have been more emblematic of the Sox' season this summer.
The win advanced them to the next round against the Langdon Post 98 Red Sox, and unfortunately the Black Sox were unable to pull off another upset over one of the tournament favorites, as they fell by a score of 1-11 after six innings.
Going on to win the tournament was Thompson Post 181, who defeated three-time defending champions, the LaMoure Post 19 A's, in the championship game. Taking third and fourth were Langdon and Carrington, respectively.
Fifth place was claimed by Cando and the Black Sox earned sixth place with their defeat of Hazen, who along with Burlington were eliminated after two consecutive losses to finish seventh and eighth.
Despite a disappointing loss to end their state tournament, it was still a fantastic season overall for the Post 30 Black Sox, and they'll be looking to make a return to the state tournament in LaMoure, N.D. next season.
One thing's for certain with this Post 30 team: you can never count them out.
