Rapid City Post 22 is back on top, again. For some baseball fans from Rapid City and across the state watching the Hardhats win yet another title was excruciating to watch. Like any sport at any level, when the perennial powerhouse wins it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of everyone who was rooting for the underdog, and despite beating Post 22 on Friday Post 320 was still the underdog. Anytime you pair a program with 35 titles versus a program looking for their first that is the case.
For anyone who’s ever been involved or rooted for a team that wins year in and year out, you know winning is one thing that never gets old. No matter how many titles Post 22 has won, it is a new group of players each year that are trying to live up to the tradition of those that have come before. For this group of players it was especially sweet since Post 22 had not won a state title in two years.
People got so caught up in the Post 22 versus Post 320 saga that they forgot that this rivalry is like so many others. You want your team to win so badly that you almost come to despise those on the other side. This is a healthy part of sports (for the most part). There is nothing wrong with hating the Yankees if you’re a Red Sox fan. The only difference is that these are high school kids and it shouldn’t be taken quite as far. But once kids reach a certain age there are no more medals for participation, ultimately it comes down to winning or losing. If you aren’t prepared to face both don’t play or be involved with sports.
Like it or not this rivalry is here to stay and for those of us who love sports because of the drama rivalries provide it was a great week of baseball. From a local point of view it was fantastic to see to Rapid City teams in the championship game of the state tournament, it won’t be long and we’ll be watching East River teams battle it out for state titles in football and basketball while our mediocre programs struggle to be .500.
Congratulations to the Post 320 Stars on a great season in which they won 40 games and earned their first ever victory over Post 22. It was fun to watch you all year long.
Congratulations to Post 22 who overcame many challenges this year and earned their 36th state championship. This group of players has come a long ways in the last couple years. Good luck at the regional tournament and I hope to see you at the World Series.
-Jake-

In all my years watching sports I have never seen a game like last night when Mitchell pounding Post 320 34-5. I know I have never witnessed a team commit 14 errors in one game, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team score 34 runs. People can say it was a meaningless game for Post 320 because they were already in the championship, but any time you get beat that badly it is going to have a psychological impact. I just couldn’t believe this was the same team that beat Post 22 the night before. I have to say, that was quite possibly the ugliest played baseball game I have ever seen.
With that said, who knows what is going to happen on the final day of the tournament? Can Post 320 bounce back and win their first ever state title? Can Post 22 come back and win twice, and in the process get sweet revenge over Post 320? Can Mitchell, who’s come out of nowhere, ruin the tournament for both Rapid City teams?
It is going to be a very interesting final day of the state tournament. I can’t wait.
-Jake-

By Jake Nordbye

I had a unique perspective Friday night when Post 320 finally beat Post 22 the state tournament. After the game I quickly made my way through the huge crowd at Fitzgerald Stadium to interview the players and coaches. I went to the 320 dugout first because I always interview the winning coach first. I opened the gate and saw coach Jim Brandt huddled with players who were smiling from ear to ear.

I was the first to greet coach Brandt when he came out of the dugout, which was ironic since I am a former Post 22 player. Win or lose coach Brandt is almost always smiling, but Friday night he had a glimmer in his eye I have never seen before. I told the coach congratulations and I meant it. Post 320 has come a long ways in eleven years and he deserves a lot of credit. As always he was humble, and complemented Post 22 numerous times. At the same time, he knew just how big this win was for him and his players. I think he even had watery eyes, but who knows maybe he was just exhausted after one heck of a game.

I went on and talked to several Post 320 players who were as enthralled as any group I’ve seen after winning a game.
I left smiling, it’s always good to see sports at this level and the joy accomplishment brings. It’s not about money, or fame, it’s about the love of the game.

Walking across home plate at my old ballpark where I used to play catcher was a bit surreal. Here I was a former Post 22 player about to write the biggest story in Post 320 history and it happened at Fitzgerald Stadium. As I walked over to the Post 22 dugout I wanted to just turn around and run the other way. My smile was gone and now I was thinking about the heartbreak on the other side. Even though teams I played for won two state tournaments and went to a World Series, we also lost one, and I remember the sickening feeling. All you want to do as a Post 22 player is live up to the tradition and when you don’t it is crushing.

I saw coach Rich Downs and had no idea what to say, so I didn’t say anything. The players were visibly shaken. I talked to a couple of them and told them to about how I had lost a similar game when I played and that the only thing you can do is come out the next day and play your hearts out.

I then made my way to talk to my old coach, coach Ploof. Since Post 22 took a little longer coming out of the dugout I was also the first one to greet him, not exactly a position I wanted to be in.

I sat down with Ploof and like always I didn’t have to ask a question he just started talking. He said, what I thought he would say, that in baseball there is always a tomorrow. Ploof is not the kind of guy that will feel sorry for himself or make excuses. Instead, he just moves forward and so will the players for Post 22.

I know a lot of people out there take personal satisfaction in seeing Ploof lose, especially to 320. I remember losing to Sioux Falls in the state tournament, and people screaming at him from the bleachers. He just kept walking and didn’t say a word. When extremely successful people fail, there will always be someone there to revel in it. But there are probably more people that have tremendous respect for the man and everything he’s done for baseball in this town.

Good luck to both teams the rest of the way. It would be great to see an all Rapid City championship.
-Jake-

After 11 years and 16 consecutive losses Post 320 has finally beaten Post 22. In a game that didn’t lack drama, the two teams tied each other or exchanged leads five times until Brandon Kiewel gave the Stars the lead for good with a 3-run inside the park homerun in the eighth.

So what does this mean for the two programs? Obviously, for Post 320 it is the biggest win in the history of the program and lifts a huge weight off their backs, but unless they go on to win the state championship that is all it will be. The biggest mistake the Stars could make is being satisfied with this win. With that said, congratulations to the players for Post 320, just like coach Brandt said, “This is a game they’ll remember forever.”

I have to say from a sports fans point of view it was one of the best local sports games I’ve ever seen. I would bet that most fans in the stadium, including myself had no idea who was going to win the game until the ninth inning.

For Post 22, if they comeback and win the state tournament against Post 320 this game will ultimately mean very little. Although that is a huge ‘if.’ As tough as the loss is for Post 22 players and coaches, they have to comeback and play today. If I know Dave Ploof and the Post 22 players like I think I do, losing at home to Post 320 will only motivate them.

There is still a lot of tournament left and this could be only the beginning.

-Jake-