JEREMY WALTNER  - PUBLISHER Lori Lehr knew she wanted to offer traditional ballpark fare at the concession stand that is part of the Lily Pad baseball complex in Menno during the recent District 6B Amateur Baseball Tournament, so items like burgers, hot dogs and nachos were a given. But she also wanted to beef up the menu with additional options for hungry baseball fans who converged at the ballfield during the tournament’s six-night run, 12-game run, “but I just couldn’t decide on what.”

JEREMY WALTNER | PUBLISHER Menno managed to get the tying run to the plate, but pitcher Brandon Nickolite and the Lesterville Broncs staved off a bottom-of-the-ninth inning rally to claim a 7-5 win and a trip to the state tournament in District 6B amateur action in Menno Thursday night, July 30.

JEREMY WALTNER | PUBLISHER A young team made up of a number of first-year amateur players with their eyes fixed on the state tournament saw their season end earlier than they had hoped when the Freeman town team lost an elimination game to Irene Sunday night, July 26.

Irene scored four runs in both the second and third innings en route to a 16-3 win over Freeman in the second round of the District 6B Amateur Baseball Tournament in Menno Sunday night, July 26. The loss ends the 2020 season for the Blacksox, who entered the postseason as the No. 6 seed in the South Central League. Irene, the No. 7 seed, plays again Thursday night for a chance to advance to the state tournament. 

No. 6 Freeman gave No. 3 Crofton a battle, but came up short in a 4-2 final on the second night of the District 6B Baseball Tournament in Menno Friday night, July 24. Meanwhile, No. 2 Menno topped No. 7 Irene 13-8. Freeman's loss pairs the Blacksox with Irene Sunday night at 7 p.m. in an elimination game. The Mad Frogs will play Crofton at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday night for chance to play in the district championship on Aug. 1.

Blacksox, Mad Frogs both play Friday night; again either Sunday or Tuesday The baseball field in Menno will be home to the District 6B Amateur Baseball Tournament starting Thursday night, July 23 with games continuing through Saturday, Aug. 1. Both Freeman and Menno will take the field Friday; the Blacksox are the No. 6 seed and will play No. 3 Crofton at 6 p.m., followed by the No. 2 Mad Frogs facing No. 7 Irene at approximately 8 p.m. The winners play again Tuesday, July 28 with the losers facing an elimination game Sunday night.

Two Canistota/Freeman Sticks teams played at the Yankton Twins Invitational at Sertoma Park Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28, and both found success. In the 12u division Saturday, the Sticks finished runner-up, losing only to Madison 6-4. Then on Sunday, the 10u team defeated Sioux City, Watertown and West Lyon to claim the tournament championship. Both teams will play at the state tournament in the coming weeks.

Here is something you need to know about Menno’s Jim Sattler: The guy was a heck of a track coach. Shortly after his arrival at Menno High School in 1983, the Avon native quickly recognized both a need for improvement within the program and the potential that lay within a younger group of boys that would soon be coming up through the ranks. 

A team that many believe can content for a Class B championship got just about all it could handle from a resilient Freeman Academy/Marion team in the third round of the Region 5B Tournament Friday night, but second-seed Canistota held off the third-seeded Bearcats in the final three minutes to claim victory. The Hawks won 54-44 and will be one of two teams representing Region 5B in next week’s SoDak 16; the other is Viborg-Hurley, the region’s top seed and another candidate for the B title.

You’re the Menno Wolves girls basketball team and its adorning fans, and there is good news and there is bad news. Let’s start with the bad.