Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Before the start of the 2023 North Dakota State B Babe Ruth Tournament on Friday, July 21 in Park River, the New Rockford Sheyenne Black Sox starting lineup was announced. Coaches Koby Duda and Jake Bilden are shown giving knuckles to the players on the team.
The Black Sox' left fielder, Vinnie Ruppell, extends his arm in an attempt to field a ball that was hit into his territory. Ruppell was arguably the Sox' busiest outfielder during the state tournament in Park River, and he reliably fielded his position throughout the event.
Jax Demester picks up a ground ball that is hit between first and second base during the game against Velva on Friday, July 21. Here, he is shown running toward first base, where he would throw the ball to Black Sox first baseman Jackson Schumacher in hopes of earning an out.
Dashyl Bichler sprints to third base during the game against Velva on Friday, July 21.
Alex Weisenburger was found in the batter's box six times between both games of the state tournament. Overall, Weisenburger earned two hits, one RBI and one run throughout the tournament.
From Friday, July 21 through Saturday, July 22, the New Rockford Sheyenne Black Sox competed in the Class B Babe Ruth State Tournament in Park River, N.D.
They qualified for the event following a stellar run to end their regular season, followed by a perfect run in the District 4 Babe Ruth Tournament in Hillsboro, N.D.
However, against the best teams in North Dakota, the Sox weren’t able to find that same success.
The Sox began their tournament on July 21 against the team from Velva, N.D., and it was New Rockford that took an early lead.
A walk to Skye Kramlich followed by two consecutive singles from Alex Weisenburger and Easton Simon loaded the bases in the first inning, allowing Jackson Schumacher to earn an RBI via fielder’s choice.
However, the Sox were unable to fully take advantage of the bases-loaded opportunity, having only scored one run by the end of the frame.
Velva managed to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning, and took a 4-1 lead after the third inning. An inning later they piled on even more, and suddenly enjoyed a 8-1 lead after the fourth inning.
That would be the last of the scoring for both teams, as Velva advanced and New Rockford was relegated to the losers’ bracket.
Waiting for them was the Beulah Twisters, who had lost to Park River in the first round.
The game took place on Saturday, July 22, and unfortunately for the Sox a new day did not bring about more success.
They did, however, enjoy a little more offense. The Sox scored two runs in the first inning, two in the third inning and another two runs in the sixth.
But that wasn’t anywhere near enough to keep up with Beulah, who amassed 12 runs after four innings and broke out for six more in the seventh, bringing the final score to 18-6 for a Beulah win.
New Rockford committed 11 errors on defense in the second game, and 12 of Beulah’s 18 runs were classified as unearned.
The Sox’ tournament standouts on offense included Alex Weisenburger – who earned two hits, one RBI and one run; Skye Kramlich – who got a hit, two runs and two walks; and Jackson Schumacher – who earned two hits and two RBIs.
Meanwhile, the play of the game on defense, and perhaps the entire tournament, was made by Thomas Allmaras, who sprinted from the mound for a short pop up and made a fantastic diving catch.
The announcer chimed in after the catch to say it was the best play of the tournament so far.
Despite the earlier-than-anticipated end to New Rockford’s state tournament, the team has plenty to be proud of.
After a less-than-ideal start to their season, the Sox finished strong and had a magnificent run at the District 4 Championship in Hillsboro, N.D. – becoming the first Babe Ruth team from New Rockford to qualify for state since 2019.
Winning the entire tournament was the host team, Park River, as they went a perfect 4-0 topped off with a 4-0 shutout victory over the LaMoure A’s in the championship game.
The Park River Pirates will now head to the Midwest Regional in Henning, Minn. for their chance of qualifying for the Babe Ruth World Series in New York later this summer.
For those interested, hundreds of pictures from the Class B State Tournament in Park River are available for purchase at transcript.smugmug.com.
2023 ND State B
Babe Ruth Tournament
Black Sox 1, Velva 8
Friday, July 21
at Park River
BLCK 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 5 2
VLVB 0 1 3 4 0 0 X - 8 9 0
Black Sox Individual Stats
Hitting: AB R H RBI
Allmaras 3 0 0 0
Kramlich 2 1 0 0
Weisenburger 3 0 1 0
Simon 3 0 1 0
Schumacher 3 0 1 1
Bichler 3 0 1 0
Ruppell 3 0 0 0
Demester 3 0 0 0
Benson 3 0 1 0
Pitching: IP H ER SO
Kramlich 4.1 9 5 3
Allmaras 1.2 0 0 1
Velva Individual Stats
Hitting: AB R H RBI
Passa 4 2 1 0
Steffen 4 1 2 1
Kittleson 3 1 0 0
Selzler 3 1 0 1
Clark 3 0 1 2
Kraft 3 1 2 0
Vincent 2 0 0 0
Nickelson 3 1 2 1
Larsen 3 1 1 0
Pitching: IP H ER SO
Kraft 5.1 4 1 3
Larsen 1.2 1 0 2
2023 ND State B
Babe Ruth Tournament
Black Sox 6, Beulah 18
Saturday, July 22
at Park River
BLCK 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 - 6 3 10
BLHT 3 0 6 3 0 0 6 - 18 13 6
Black Sox Individual Stats
Hitting: AB R H RBI
Allmaras 3 1 0 0
Kramlich 3 1 1 0
Weisenburger 3 1 1 1
Simon 3 2 0 0
Schumacher 4 0 1 1
Bichler 3 0 0 1
Ruppell 2 0 0 1
Jacobson 1 0 0 0
Demester 2 0 0 0
Nystrom 1 0 0 0
Benson 2 1 0 0
Nass - - - -
Pitching: IP H ER SO
Simon 3.1 8 4 2
Allmaras 3.0 5 0 4
Demester 0.2 0 0 0
Beulah Individual Stats
Hitting: AB R H RBI
Skalsky 4 3 2 2
Schirado 5 3 2 4
Weidner 6 0 2 1
Dutchuk 4 1 1 1
Neuberger 1 0 0 0
Steffan 5 2 3 1
Soine 3 1 0 1
Richter 2 0 0 0
Newman 3 1 1 1
Meher 1 1 0 0
Jordan 5 3 2 1
Roorda - - - -
Held 3 3 0 1
Pitching: IP H ER SO
Skalsky 2.1 2 0 4
Held 1.1 0 0 1
Jordan 2.1 1 0 1
Roorda 1.0 0 0 1
