Softball and
baseball’s favorite newspaper since 1987
By
Don Bowman
High school softball complexes across
the state have been extremely busy the last few weeks, hosting several top
notch varsity level fastpitch extravaganzas.
At the prestigious North St. Paul
Polar Classic, on April 24-25, the state’s top four powerhouses battled it out
for state supremacy! When the dust settled, the Hastings Raiders were the only
team standing, as they defeated a talented Burnsville Blaze club 2-0 for the
championship. Other solid performers included:
The following week, not to be
outdone, the Tartan Titans hosted their annual Titan Invitational at
Jeb Drywall,
Tital Apparel crowned
The Dudley Earlybird
Classic National Qualifier, the state’s longest running USSSA National
Qualifier, crowned two champions on April 25-26. Jeb
Drywall of
Resmondo wins Gateway Classic
The Gateway Classic (
O&S Cattle/Pov’s
hits No. 1
O&S Cattle/Pov’s
has jumped to number one in the Lets Play Softball rankings after an
outstanding performance in the past weekend’s Corky’s
Earlybird Classic in
In the competitive men’s Tier II
division at Corky’s, congratulations go out to Blue
Line Collision who came home champions as well.
Huge crowds and a great tournament field
were on hand for this one, which once again proves why this event is one of the
premier tournaments in the
Donnie Klatt passes away
The slowpitch
softball community lost a great asset two weeks ago, when Hall of Famer Donnie Klatt of Osseo passed
away suddenly at age 58. Nobody loved the game of softball more than Donnie, as
he was a landmark at softball fields throughout the metro area, 24/7! Donnie
was part of the hard hitting/slick fielding brother duo with Ronnie Klatt, and was just inducted into the Hall of Fame this
past year. He was also a member of national championship teams with the highly
successful Minnesota Masters Softball Club, and played on several state
championship teams, too numerous to remember. Our heartfelt prayers go out to
the Klatt family. Donnie, we will miss you!
Senior teams set for Mosquitoland
Twenty four of the
Gopher women swept by Illini
The Gophers women’s fastpitch club’s postseason chances took a big hit, when
they were swept by the
Fundraising opportunity
Hall of Famer
Mick Ritter, who starred with some of the state’s top ball clubs during his
heyday in the 70’s and 80’s, has a GREAT fundraising plan set up for groups who
are trying to raise some funds! Face to Face Solutions, in partnership with the
Minneapolis Star Tribune, makes it fast and easy for anybody to raise
money for their favorite organization! Visit their site at
www.facetofacesolutions.org for more information on this outstanding venture.
This would be a great way for a youth baseball/softball organization to raise
some badly needed money.
LPS Bat Contest slated for June
The 2009 Lets Play Softball Bat
Contest is slated for June! Look for more updates in Let’s Play Softball soon!
Each year the very BEST of softball bats are tested and reviewed to help you,
the softball enthusiast, know what choices you have when purchasing a softball
bat. This year, there are some incredible new models out there to choose. See
more on the contest in our next issue!