After making it to the State Tournament every year since 2009, the Garretson Blue Jays amateur baseball team was working hard to enter the tourney again in 2021. They fell short of that goal last Sunday, falling to the Elk Point Colt 45s in their final 7B Region game.
"We had a lot of fun this year and had some great laughs," posted the Garretson Blue Jays on Facebook. "The season didn’t end the way we wanted, but we had ourselves a fun ride."
The State Line League District 7B Tournament was held in Larchwood with the Akron Rebels, Elk Point Colt 45s, Lennox Dirt Devils, Larchwood Diamonds, and the Blue Jays facing off against each other.
The Blue Jays were ranked number two, having won six out of seven games so far this season, and started off the tournament in a match-up against the Rebels on Sunday, July 25.
Against the Rebels, Joey Fitzgerald only gave up five hits, while the Jays had 11 hits. Unfortunately, they took the loss 1-3 and entered the consolation bracket.
The team then faced off against the Dirt Devils and redeemed themselves, winning 14-4.
"Trey [Buckneberg] stepped up big in his first year of G town amateur baseball and pitched a great 5 innings," said the Blue Jays Facebook Page. "Then we brought in Golden Arm [Dustin] Steckler to shut the door on them the last 4. Scott Splett sliced the ball in half and drove in multiple runs. Nick Bonte did his best impression of Ozzie Smith and was a vacuum at short. Jack Fitz came in and pinch hit and had a huge walk. Legion player [Tayson] Swatek came in and showed the old men you can actually get a base hit and Austin Vanhove put his name up for Manager of the Year again."
The Jays then took up their mitts against the Colt 45s. They knew they were up against a tough team, and intended to play hard. Elk Point took the first point out of the gate, and stayed ahead of Garretson as the teams racked up the runs. Final score after nine hard-fought innings was 5-11, with the Jays walking away disappointed.
"We had 4 guys come out the week before our first game who hadn’t played in multiple years to help us roster a team," the Jays wrote. "Our last game of the season 8 of the 9 players were from Garretson, which is pretty rare for most teams! The future is extremely bright for Garretson baseball and we look forward to continuing the great baseball tradition.
"More details will come out about our annual golf tournament, please gather a team and help us raise money for the upcoming season as coach Vanhove has spent more money than came in this year for the Jay’s bank account."
The annual golf tournament will likely be held at River Ridge Golf Course, with the annual event raising funds for equipment and dues for the team, which plays each summer from mid-June until August.
