A's Midget Rec Baseball Team Claims Championship Win

Two Midget rec baseball teams competed in the tournament final on Tuesday, June 24 at 6 p.m. The game made up for the championship a week before, which was cancelled due to stormy weather. The A’s and the Yankees played each other to decide the tournament winner. After a game of pop-fly catches and solid batting, the A’s brought home the win with a score of 1-0.

The Midget A’s Coach Jason Keller has coached rec evening baseball in Mandan for three years. He grew up playing baseball and is a lifelong baseball fan. Keller shared his thoughts on the tournament and his season as a coach.

“The tournament was good, we got rained out so it’s kind of a drag having to come back and do it again, but it’s great to see the kids. We had some tough games this year, everybody kind of hung in there, and we ended up winning in the end.”

Keller also described the best parts about coaching rec baseball in the community.

“To me, the best part is getting to see the kids who wouldn’t normally have an opportunity with some of the other travel programs and stuff,” Keller said. “For a lot of the kids, this is their only exposure to baseball, so it’s important to make sure they have a good experience.”

The A’s Catcher Calvin Duppong celebrated the championship win and talked about his team.

“I like my team this year because I played with the A’s last year and we got second place in the tournament. But this year, we got first place,” Duppong said. “I feel like I’ve advanced from last year so much.”

Duppong’s teammate Kohen Frye shared his favorite part about rec baseball.

“It's fun to see my friends and it's fun to hit and get on base,” Frye said. “My team inspired me. A lot of things they teach me, and they're really kind.”

Volunteers help make the evening baseball rec program run smoothly, and Keller urges parents to volunteer.

“I would encourage any parent to volunteer to coach their kids' little league baseball team. It’s not very hard, and if you get out there and don’t know what you’re doing, there will be plenty of people to come in and help.”