Standout Sox celebrate 20 years

Two decades ago, the Sheyenne-New Rockford Black Sox made it to the State Class B Babe Ruth championship game as one of the strongest teams in North Dakota.

Coached by Glen Nystrom and Chris Romanoski, the 2002 Black Sox were a dominant force, and their runner-up finish still stands as the best-ever result in Black Sox Babe Ruth history.

"We were hitters," Coach Nystrom said about his old team. "If you look at the stat sheets, there's a lot of guys with really good averages ... a lot of driving the ball, a lot of doubles, and we could run. I think as a team we had 104 steals that year."

Casey Weber led the team in steals with 23, and also earned an impressive .356 batting average. Other offensive standouts were Michael Cudworth, Mark Riggle, Mitchell Laroque and Tyler Cook.

Riggle led the team in RBIs with 35 and in doubles with 11, but it's Cudworth who stands out most when reading the team's stats from 2002. He ended the season with 36 runs, 39 hits, 19 walks and a .543 batting average - all best of his team.

However, Cudworth did most of his damage on the mound. In 41 2/3 innings pitched he allowed just five earned runs, struck out 63 batters, had an incredible 1.08 ERA (earned run average), and, of course, a perfect win/loss record of 7-0.

"Michael Cudworth's pitching stats that year were maybe a top-five pitching season for anybody, Babe Ruth, Legion or high school, in a season in SNR history," said Nystrom. "When you look at the stats it's hard not to think he was the MVP of that team."

That combination of dominant pitching from Cudworth and good hitting all around, propelled the Black Sox to a 10-1 regular-season record and into the District 2 playoffs as one of the favorites.

Perhaps the biggest win of their season came next, as the Black Sox took on Linton in a best-of-3 showdown to qualify for state.

According to Nystrom, Linton was especially challenging thanks to a dominant pitcher of their own, one that went on to attempt a serious run at Major League Baseball.

Nevertheless, on July 25, 2002, the Black Sox pitched better. Cudworth led his team on the mound for a narrow 4-3 win in game one, and Brandon Muscha, a pickup player from Harvey, pitched a dominant win in game 2, leading his team to a 10-2 victory and a trip to the state tournament in Rolla.

The Black Sox went on to defeat almost every team competing at state. Only the squad from Lisbon consistently stood in their way.

After beating Dunseith in round 1, SNR was sent to the lower bracket by Lisbon, where the Black Sox bounced back with consecutive wins against Rolla, Northern Cass and Velva.

It was enough to take Sheyenne-New Rockford to the championship game, where Lisbon was once again waiting. But the second time wasn't the charm for SNR, as Lisbon unleashed an offensive onslaught and took the championship with a crushing 12-3 victory. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic season, and it still stands as the best result in the history of SNR Babe Ruth baseball.

An article written by Caryn Woodstead, in the August 19, 2002, edition of the "New Rockford Transcript," celebrated the team's historic achievement:

"The 2002 Sheyenne/New Rockford Babe Ruth baseball team made local history recently when they placed 2nd in the State Babe Ruth Tournament played in Rolla on August 2-6.

"According to Tony Greff, who's been involved with local baseball through the New Rockford Eagles for the past 40 years, this is the best finish for a New Rockford team. Teams from New Rockford have played in state tourneys four times previous to this year and a 4th place finish is the best they'd achieved before this year.

"... Coach Nystrom said that he was really surprised at the big difference in the teams that were at the tourney. He added that the SNR team did really well, but ran out of pitching. He added, 'It was truly a team effort to get as far as we did. The 2nd place trophy that we brought home was a result of that strong team effort.'"

Almost exactly two decades later, Nystrom is now attempting to locate his old players to give them a copy of that season's stats and to celebrate their 2002 run - a run that ended with a runner-up finish, a 19-4 overall record and with plenty of good memories.

Tyler Cook, an infielder, outfielder and occasional pitcher for the team, said he built most his memories while hanging out and having success with his friends - such as when he threw a no-hitter against their rivals, Carrington, on July 14, 2002.

Players from the 2002 SNR Babe Ruth team, or anyone who knows how to get in touch with a player, are encouraged to call Glen Nystrom at (701) 302-0686.