Search
The final day of the 2023 Midwest Plains 13-15 Babe Ruth Regional tournament took place on Sunday at beautiful Tony Kawlewski Field in Henning, MN. The final four teams had some things in common, as all came from either North Dakota or Minnesota. The semifinal match-ups were both in state battles as Park River and Williston of North Dakota took on each other at 10am and Fergus Falls and Moorhead of Minnesota battled it out at 1pm.
Game 1 of the day featured state champions from North Dakota. Williston represented North Dakota as the Class A State Champion and Park River represented North Dakota as the Class B Champions. Park River came out on top in the battle of North Dakota to advance to the championship game, winning by a score of 8-2. Players of the game for Williston were Eden Mortenson on offense and Caleb Bernal on defense. Players of the game for Park River were starting pitcher Tucker Omdahl on defense and Jack Langerud on offense. Park River advances to the championship game at 4pm.
The second game of the day featured a familiar battle between I-94 rivals in Minnesota, as State Champion Moorhead took on Runner-Up Fergus Falls. The two teams battled in a low scoring pitcher’s duel. Moorhead ended up on the winning end of things, defeating Fergus Falls 4-2 and advancing to the championship game vs Park River. Players of the game for Moorhead were Carson Heinsch on offense and JJ Dunlap and Riley Dickhaus on defense. For Fergus Falls, Holden Stenstrom earned offensive player of the game and Isaiah Holmes earned defensive player of the game.
Prior to the final game of the 2023 Midwest Plains Babe Ruth Regional Tournament, the Norm and Colleen Travis Sportsmanship Award was presented by state commissioner Todd Corrow. The Norm and Colleen Travis Sportsmanship Award is given to a team that demonstrates and executes the Sportsmanship Code of Babe Ruth League, Inc. It is named for longtime Babe Ruth official Norm Travis, who served in administrative roles in the Babe Ruth League for over fifty years. Norm was inducted into the Babe Ruth League Hall of Fame in 2010. His wife Colleen was always by his side during his tenure as Regional Commissioner and enjoyed the game of baseball as much as Norm. The Midwest Plains Babe Ruth Regional Norm and Colleen Travis Sportsmanship Award was given to the Ottertail Central Bulldog community for their upstanding sportsmanship on and off the field, hosting a tournament and making everyone feel like they were at home while in Henning.
Commissioner Todd Corrow has also given out Commissioner Challenge Coins throughout the tournament. The Commissioner's Coin is similar to the challenge coins that military branches give out. It recognizes individuals that do positive things and bring positivity and leadership to their teams both on and off the field. A couple more coins were given out, as Park River’s Reeves Jorgenson received one. Commissioner Corrow also presented Tony Kawlewski with a coin for his dedication to OTC baseball. Tony could be seen taking in game throughout the weekend, even when OTC wasn’t playing.
Ottertail Central also presented a local family with a donation. Tyler Hawes was one of the officers injured in a police shooting in Fargo on July 14, 2023. OTC donated all tips from the concession stand to help the family with Tyler’s medical needs. OTC held a raffle for a donated Louisville Slugger bat specially designed with the 2023 Midwest Plains Regional wording. The winner of the raffle opted to donate the bat back to the Hawes’ family. The final four teams as well as Ottertail Central signed the bat and presented the bat and donated tips to Tyler’s in-laws in an emotional ceremony before the championship game.
The championship game between Moorhead, MN and Park River, ND did not disappoint as the two strong teams battled for a trip to Jamestown, NY to represent their communities, states, and the Midwest Plains Region in the Babe Ruth World Series. Jake Solseng started on the mound for Park River and Carson Heinsch started on the mound for Moorhead. Moorhead got the scoring started in the bottom of the 2nd inning, putting up a 4 spot on Park River. Park River responded by cutting the lead in half in the top of the 3rd inning, making the lead 4-2. Moorhead put across 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 6-2 in favor of Moorhead. Moorhead starting pitcher Carson Heinsch kept Park River in check, until Park River started a rally in the top of the 6th inning and Heinsch hit the pitch limit, giving way to reliever Jett Feeney. Park River put across 3 runs to cut the lead to 6-5. However, Moorhead hung on for the win, defeating Park River 6-5. Tucker Omdahl and Jackson Omdahl provided relief for Solseng in the loss. Heinsch picked up the win, while Solseng took the loss. Players of the game for Moorhead were Riley Dickhaus on offense and starting pitcher Carson Heinsch and shortstop Conner Zimmerman on defense. For Park River, they were led on offense by Jack Langerud and Jake Solseng and on defense by Trace Anderson and Jackson Omdahl, each earning player of the game honors.
Moorhead will represent the Midwest Plains Region in the Babe Ruth World Series, held August 10-20 in Jamestown, NY. More information about the tournament and live scoring can be found at https://www.baberuthworldseries.org/#/event/691.
All Tournament Team members were awarded to:
Ayden Olson, Ottertail Central, MN
Ryan Despard, Ottertail Central, MN
Lawson Oliphant, Breckenridge, MN
Gavin Hoffert, Breckenridge, MN
Brayson Green, Charleston, MO
Jamison Sifford, Charleston, MO
Zander Polk, Border, CO
Tate Renquist, Border, CO
Caleb Bernal, Williston, ND
Jaxon Jeannotte, Williston, ND
Justin Irgens, Williston, ND
Micah Johnson, Fergus Falls, MN
Hunter Powers, Fergus Falls, MN
Jacob Fronning, Fergus Falls, MN
Trace Anderson, Park River, ND
Jake Solseng, Park River, ND
Reeves Jorgensen, Park River, ND
Andrew Zikmund, Park River, ND
Taye Reich, Moorhead, MN
Jaimeson Dunlap, Moorhead, MN
Riley Dickhaus, Moorhead, MN
Conner Zimmerman, Moorhead, MN
Brayden Kvamme, Moorhead, MN
Carson, Heinsch, Moorhead, MN
Ottertail Central would like to thank all players and fans for their support of the 2023 Midwest Plains Regional 13-15 Babe Ruth Tournament at Tony Kawlewski Field in Henning, MN. OTC coaches would like to thank all of the volunteers that made this event possible. Without the support of the families and community this event would not have been possible. Thank you everyone who helped make this happen!