Advertisement

American Legion baseball team rebrands itself amid health concerns

Error message

  • Warning: array_merge(): Expected parameter 1 to be an array, bool given in _simpleads_render_ajax_template() (line 133 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/includes/simpleads.helper.inc).
  • Notice: Trying to get property 'settings' of non-object in _simpleads_adgroup_settings() (line 343 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/includes/simpleads.helper.inc).
  • Warning: array_merge(): Expected parameter 1 to be an array, bool given in _simpleads_render_ajax_template() (line 157 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/includes/simpleads.helper.inc).
  • Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in include() (line 24 of /home/pdccourier/www/www/sites/all/modules/simpleads/templates/simpleads_ajax_call.tpl.php).

Owen Oldenburg, from the Prairie du Chien Independent 16U team, snags a hit against Viroqua's independent baseball team, June 10, at the St. Feriole Island Ball Park.

Prairie du Chien Independent 18U, 16U take the field

 

By Correne Martin

 

When the American Legion Department of Wisconsin moved May 9 to cancel its baseball programming for the 2020 season, that left a group of disheartened young men from the Prairie du Chien area with the urge to just play ball. 

The Grasshoppers, as they’re known in the Wisconsin American Legion Baseball Association, faced a quiet summer thanks to COVID-19. 

But the coaches, players, families and fans weren’t about to give up on having some sort of season. After all, last year’s Hoppers finished a successful ride by making the state tournament, and recording an overall season record of 29-8. 

With hopes of getting on the field in some capacity, head coach Nate Cejka and assistant Bjorn Thompson put in a lot of long hours making phone calls, monitoring the coronavirus pandemic and researching options.

“We just wanted the opportunity to play,” Cejka said. 

From there, they started up an independent team, sponsored by Steve Jones and The Blackhawk. The 26 players—assigned to 18U and 16U teams—will sport the same colors as the Legion team: green and white. The 16U coaches are Aaron Peterson and 2019 team member Gavin Gillitzer.

This marks the first time since 1927 the Department of Wisconsin will not crown an American Legion Baseball champion. 

But the potential experiences for the Prairie du Chien Independent teams this summer are great in their own right. They’ve been playing whenever Cejka can line up a game so far, and hope to be in the Babe Ruth League basically throughout the month of July. Babe Ruth has 18 teams and three divisions and would stretch from here over to west Madison, as teams from Westby, Viroqua and Fennimore are looking to enter the same league this season. The league does run a state tournament the first week in August; however, it’s uncertain whether that will happen depending on health concerns at the time.

“One of the first things that really happened for us was the city allowing the ball fields to reopen on [St. Feriole Island], with some stipulations,” Cejka said. “Currently, the restrooms and concessions are still closed.”

Prairie du Chien Independent’s first contest was last Wednesday versus Viroqua. Over the weekend, they played three games in Mauston at the Woodside Sports Complex. Last night, they hosted Mineral Point, and they look to see Holmen come to town next week. 

“It’s been beneficial for us to have our fields open,” Cejka pointed out. “A lot of these teams play on high school fields, and they’re not open now. We have some young umpires in town, so I can line up a game in a day.”

Thrilled by the chance to compete, the independent organization wanted to move forward cautiously, with intentions of non-sharing and social distancing where possible. 

Cejka said the boys were each issued their own batting helmets, catchers were given individual gear and first basemen their own mitts if they didn’t have them already. 

“We can’t really afford to give each kid a $200-$400 bat, but we’ve tried to get batting gloves into everyone’s hands, and we have hand sanitizer everywhere. We even travel with sanitizer,” he added. 

In addition, at each game, the announcer asks fans to keep their distance from other families. Though the bleachers haven’t been eliminated from the St. Feriole Island Ball Park, the team also encourages followers to bring their own chairs. 

“Last week, when we played Viroqua—our big rival—it was packed,” Cejka said, admittedly. “I think people in the community just wanted the opportunity to get out of the house and watch sports.”

All players and parents have signed waivers, stating they are playing at their own risk for 2020. 

“We’re doing what we can in Prairie, but when we travel, we can’t control what other ball parks do,” he said.

At the Mauston tournament last weekend, Cejka said each team pitched and played defense with their own baseballs. Though, to make it fair, the host provided all the same type of balls. Concessions and restrooms were open there as well. 

In the near future, he shared that, if COVID-19 cases remain minimal locally, he’d like to see the city consider opening the concession stand, at least. “That’s what funds our ball park, and everything we do there,” he said. 

Until then, fans are welcome to carry in their own drinks and snacks. 

For the 2021 season, barring the pandemic isn’t a factor, Cejka said he expects the teams to return to their American Legion roots. 

“We’re so familiar with the Legion, and it’s a very, very competitive league,” he stated. 

Rate this article: 
No votes yet