Moorhead teens play in Babe Ruth World Series
Moorhead’s 15U team qualified for the Babe Ruth World Series, winning two and losing two games during pool play and missing the final rounds by just one run.
Two teams of Moorhead teen-agers made baseball history this month with trips to the Babe Ruth World Series.
The Moorhead Youth Baseball Association’s 14U team took to the field Aug. 3-13 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, playing five games in the Washington Nationals’ A team field. The second team, 15U, played in another Babe Ruth contest for their age group in Jamestown, New York, Aug. 10-20, coming within one run of making it into bracket play for the national title.
While neither team took home top honors, their participation was nevertheless an epic achievement. The mostly-sophomore 14-year-olds in 14U and 15U’s 15-year-olds, most starting their junior year this week, were the first teams fielded by the nonprofit Moorhead sports association to qualify for the national tournaments.
They traveled with sizable contingents of fans, including members of their families. “It was awesome,” reported Thad Stafford, whose son Brady played on 14U. “The team didn’t do as well as we hoped this year, but overall the experience went really, really well. Now that they’ve gotten a taste, the blood is in the water. They can’t wait to get back there.”
August Grothmann, a University of North Dakota senior who has coached the 15U boys since they were just 13, agreed. “The World Series was everything I could have asked for. This was always our goal. We finally got our big moment.” He added, “This was probably the most fun week of my life.”
The 15U team split its four games during the initial pool play, defeating Greenville, South Carolina, 7-5 and Portland, Oregon, 8-7. The team fell to Beekman, New York, 4-8 and Norwalk, Connecticut, 3-4. Moorhead, Beekman and Portland were caught in a three-way tie for second and third. The decision of who would make the final bracket play came down to runs allowed; Moorhead was just one run short and missed the cut.
Ironically, one of the teams Moorhead beat, Portland, went on to win the tournament, with Beekman coming in second.
The 14U team didn’t fare as well. First-year coach Wyatt Gunkel, a Moorhead native who’s a senior Concordia College, was philosophical about his boys’ five losses. “Oh, my goodness! It was a tremendous opportunity and experience, seeing those boys when they got out on the field. It wasn’t necessarily our best baseball, but I saw a lot of leadership and bonding. I’m extremely proud of the boys and how we competed, even though the scoreboard didn’t show it.”
The 14-year-olds were defeated by four teams in pool play: Orcutt, California, 12-1; Mexico, 14-0; Tallahassee, Florida, 17-4; and Franklin, New Jersey, 13-3. The Orcutt team ultimately won the series. The team lost to Aruba in the first game of bracket play.
Parent Stafford, whose wife and three older children all attended the games, noted that the boys were able to play three international teams during their stay. “Our boys made a great connection with the boys from Australia right off the bat,” he added, “and they chatted with each other the whole trip. Once both our teams were knocked out, we put a friendly game together between us and Australia. However, we split into two teams, with both consisted of half Moorhead kids and half Australians. It might have been the highlight of the trip.”
Another highlight occurred back home before either team stepped on a plane. While some of the teams’ costs were covered by Babe Ruth Baseball, much was left to pay for flights for their coaches and many, many supporters. Both Moorhead teams dived into fund-raising in the week or so before their trips. The 14U group and their supporters raised $48,000 in individual and business gifts in just 10 days. Contributions to the older boys’ team nearly topped $40,000.
“The boys worked hard – going door to door, calling on businesses, selling ice cream at Centennial Field,” Wyatt said. “Moorhead just came through for us in a really big way. The community support was absolutely outstanding.”
