While this weekend’s rain was much needed in southwest Minnesota, it has impacted the Region 13C amateur baseball playoffs. The region is in its Final Four round with all of the remaining teams guaranteed two more weeks of baseball.
Luverne and Fairmont are tied 1-1 in their best-of-three series with each team winning on its home field.
Game Three was scheduled for a 2 p.m. start at Redbird Field in Luverne but the weather and wet grounds pushed that back to a 7 p.m. start.
The Milroy-Hadley series is a little more complicated.
The Irish won Game One at The Irish Yard, with Game Two scheduled for Saturday at Hadley.
An early afternoon shower delayed the start about 45 minutes and then there was more rain, which halted play until Sunday. But then there was more rain on Sunday.
With no lights at Laurie Mahon Memorial Field in Hadley, the series will go back to The Irish Yard.
Game Two will be resumed at 7 p.m. Monday with a 0-0 score in the top of the third. Milroy has runners on first and second with one out. If the Buttermakers win to send the series the limit, Game Three would follow late Monday night at The Irish Yard.
The winners of those series will be guaranteed a berth in the state tournament and will play a best-of-three series to determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
The losers of those series will play a best-of-three series to determine the No. 3 seed from the region for the state tourney.
The state tournament will be played at Dundas, Faribault and Miesville.
South Dakota state amateur
South Dakota’s state amateur baseball tournaments started last Thursday with all of the Class B games at Cadwell Park in Mitchell, while the Class A tournament starts at Fossum Field in Aberdeen and concludes in Mitchell.
Three of the four teams in Monday’s session of second-round games have unique nicknames.
In the first game of the session, the Platte Killer Tomatoes play the Alexandria Angeles. In the late game, the Canova Gang meets the Lennox Only One Alpacas.
I was working at the newspaper in Mitchell in the early days of the Killer Tomatoes.
Until the mid-1980’s, Platte’s amateur team didn’t have a mascot. They were simply just known as Platte.
“We had these green and yellow uniforms, they were kind of like the Oakland A’s, that kind of color,” former Platte player Sam Nachitgal told South Dakota Public Broadcasting. “And then we had all red, gray pants and red tops. And so we went from green to red and it was kind of like “well, we were a ripened tomato.”
At the time, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert hosted a movie review program on television. One of the episodes was dedicated to the worst-made horror movies of all-time. Included was a film entitled ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.’
‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes’ is a science fiction/horror spoof film about tomatoes that go on a rampage attacking innocent bystanders. The original movie was successful enough to warrant three sequels.
Nachitgal of Platte saw the Siskel and Ebert segment on television, regarding their review of the ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes’ movie,’ and from there a new era of Platte amateur baseball was born.
“Someone made the comment [about our uniforms], “Good God, we look like tomatoes,” and my friend Sam Nachitgal said “we’re not just tomatoes, we’re killer tomatoes,” said former player Kevin Kuiper. “From then on, sometime in the mid-80’s, we’ve been known as the Killer Tomatoes.”
A unique aspect of the Killer Tomatoes mascot is the logo.
While neither Nachitgal nor Kuiper can remember who exactly designed it – the image is basically a tomato version of what a Halloween jack-o-lantern looks like:
Along with Platte’s amateur team getting their mascot name from the ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes’ movie, they also acquired a team fight song – also from the film.
The song would be played at times throughout Platte home games, however, that particular tradition has slowed over the years.
Here it is:
And it was something when Platte fans would chant “Killer Tomatoes, Killer Tomatoes.”
I’ve yet to come across a team at any level or sport nicknamed Killer Tomatoes.
MoonDogs update
Truman native Derek Shoen is hitting .273 (33-121) for the Mankato MoonDogs of the Northwoods League. He has 20 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs. He has 18 runs batted in.
Shoen also has walked 20 times, been hit by a pitch five times and has four stolen bases.
Windom graduate Kobe Lovell has joined the MoonDogs and pitched Friday at Willmar. In 4.1 innings he gave up 10 runs on 11 hits, walked five and struck out one.
Mankato is 16-11 and in third place in the Great Plains West Division heading into the final week of the second half. The MoonDogs are at Bismarck Sunday night, host Rochester Monday and Tuesday, host Eau Claire Wednesday and Thursday and then are at LaCrosse Friday and Saturday.
Becker update
Fairmont graduate Luke Becker is hitting .289 (96-332) for the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes of the independent Atlantic League. He has 20 doubles, three triples and 15 home runs. He has 64 runs batted in.
He also has walked 46 times and has nine stolen bases.
The Genomes are 15-14 in the second half of the South Division schedule.
Close to home
In case you missed it, there is growing speculation that Martin County West graduate Brandon Williamson will be pitching for the Cincinnati Reds before the season ends.
Williamson is currently playing for the Triple-A Louisville Bats.
The Reds traded two starting pitchers last week as they sent Tyler Mahle to the Twins and Luis Castillo to the Padres. Then on Friday, Hunter Greene was placed on the 15-day injured list.
With Williamson eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter, the Reds will need to add him to the 40-man roster anyway.
The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers in December The rule aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other organizations would be willing to have them play in the major leagues.
The Rule 5 draft happened every year from 1920 until 2021 when the MLB lockout led to the postponement of the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, but the minor league phase proceeded as scheduled.
Both the Triple-A Bats and parent-club Reds will be in Iowa at the end of next week.
Louisville is in Indianapolis through Sunday, has Monday off and will be in Des Moines for six games vs. the Iowa Cubs Tuesday-Sunday. Williamson is scheduled to start Thursday’s game at Principal Park, which is scheduled for a 12:08 p.m. start.
Cincinnati is at Milwaukee through Sunday, plays three in New York vs. the Mets Monday-Wednesday, and then faces the Cubs in the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa on Thursday. After a day off on Friday the Reds play the Cubs at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati next Saturday and Sunday.
A number of Martin County residents will be making their way to Des Moines for Thursday’s game.
Should be remain with Louisville, the Bats will be playing the St. Paul Saints Sept. 13-18 at CHS Field in St. Paul.