Even though there are still a few weeks left of the school year, the Dell Rapids Little League will begin their 2016 season on Wednesday, May 16th.  The Dell Rapids Little League has 17 teams this year.  There are three Coach Pitch (6U) teams, five Transition League (8U) teams, five Pee Wee (9-10) teams, and four Midget (11-12) teams.

The Pee Wee and Midget teams will play their games on Monday and Wednesday nights.  They will be playing in the MinnDak League again this year with teams from Dell Rapids, Baltic, Flandreau, Garretson, Tri-Valley, Humboldt, and Hills-Beaver Creek.  The end of the year tournaments will be held July 8-10.  The Pee Wee tournament will be in Flandreau, and the Midget tournament will be Dell Rapids.

The Coach Pitch teams will play Mondays and Wednesdays, with at least one game that will be played every Monday and Wednesday at Dells Nursing and Rehab Center field.  Teams from Dell Rapids, Flandreau and Tri-Valley will play in the Coach Pitch division.  The Transition League will play on Tuesday and Thursdays with teams from Dell Rapids, Baltic, Tri-Valley, Flandreau and Humboldt.

The 2016 Dell Rapids Little League Baseball registration is under way.  This year the Dell Rapids Little League is again using online registration.  The early registration period runs until March 15th.  From March 15th until April 30th, a $10.00 late fee will be applied to the costs.  There will be four divisions again this year:

Coach Pitch:  6 to 7 years of age
Transition League:  7 to 8 years of age
Pee-Wees:  9 to 10 years of age
Midgets:  11 to 12 years of age

The cut-off date for each division ins May 1st.  The cost of the Coach Pitch and Transition League divisions is $45.00.  The cost for the Pee-Wee and Midget divisions is $55.00.  A $5.00 off coupon will be automatically deducted from the cost if the player re-uses the hat from last year.

To register for the 2016 season, go to the Dell Rapids Little League website, www.dellrapidsbaseball.com, and click on DR Online Registration link.

The Dell Rapids Little League held their annual 12U baseball tournament on Friday, May 29th through Sunday, May 31st on diamonds A, B, E, and F.  This year 12 teams from around the area participated in the tournament:  Dell Rapids ERC, Dell Rapids T&C, Dell Rapids Jody’s Collision, Hills-Beaver Creek Red, Hills-Beaver Creek Blue, Crooks Stangs, Brookings Pizza Ranch, Brookings CF Promo, Brookings Century 21, Brookings Superior Homes, Brookings First Bank & Trust, and Brookings Dakota Abstract & Title.

“This tournament is a great way for teams to get a chance to play other teams they don’t see on a regular basis in their leagues.  This year was a fantastic tournament…all the teams seemed to be pretty evenly matched.  Most of our games were decided by just a couple of runs, and I think if not all the teams won a game this weekend, a large majority of them did,” said Dell Rapids Little League President Matt Larson.

This year’s tournament was divided into four pools of three teams each.  Each team played the other two teams in their pool during games on Friday and Saturday, and then the each team was given an additional game on Sunday.  The four pool winners competed in a championship round to determine the champion of the tournament.

“We had a lot of excitement all weekend long.  At any given time during the weekend, there were cheers erupting from at least one diamond if not more.  That’s what it’s all about for us.  We love seeing and hearing kids getting exciting about the game.  Our board members heard on many occasions from coaches all weekend that not only were the kids exciting about playing, but the coaches themselves learned that some of their players could play different positions than what they normally play when they were asked to do so.  That’s another reason we love hosting this tournament,” Larson said.

Superior Homes from Brookings emerged as the 2015 champion after defeating the Crooks Stangs in the final game on Sunday afternoon.

Larson also added, “I want to thank all the volunteers who gave their time to help make this tournament a success.  Not only did we luck out with weather this year, but we had so many helpers to make the tournament run smooth.  We had folks who worked on preparing fields before games, worked in the concession stand, organized all the umpire assignments, donated home-made goodies or hot dogs….all those things help make this tournament a success.  A lot of these things may go unnoticed, but our board appreciates every bit of help.  The Dell Rapids Little League community steps up year after year from the players, to parents, to coaches and board members to make sure we put on the very best tournament we can, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Dell Rapids played host to a Little League baseball tournament on June 1st and 2nd.  15 teams from Fargo, Brookings and Dell Rapids participated in the annual weekend tournament.  After a cold, cloudy and windy day on Saturday, the weather changed dramatically on the final day.  Sunday provided the ball players and spectators alike with sunshine and great temperatures for the final day.

Walker Chiropractic from Fargo defeated First Bank from Brookings in the championship game.  CF Promo from Brookings finished 3rd, while Superior Homes from Brookings finished 4th.  Dell Rapids Jody’s Collision finished the tournament with a 1-3 record.  Dell Rapids T&C also finished with a 1-3 record, and Dell Rapids Troy’s finished 0-3 on for the tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The registration period has begun for the Dell Rapids Little League for the 2013 season.  Forms were sent home with the boys from school.  They can also be picked up at City Hall or downloaded from the Dell Rapids Little League website, www.dellrapidslittleleague.com, on the Handouts tab.  All the forms need to be turned in by March 15th back to the schools or to City Hall.

Dell Rapids Little League will have four age brackets again this year:  Coach Pitch, Transition League, Pee-Wee, and Midget.