The Rugby Babe Ruth team took second place in the tournament held last week. Bottineau, who was a thorn in Rugby’s side all season, took first. In fact, Bottineau beat Rugby twice during the regular season and Rugby handed Bottineau its only loss of the season for the third game the two teams played.

Including the tournament games, Rugby finished with a 10-4 win/loss record.

In the first game the Rugby boys were challenged by Rolette, but beat them 15-11. The game started with Rolette earning 4 runs in the first inning while Rugby remained scoreless. The second inning produced no runs for either team. Rugby came back in the third with 3 of their own on the scoreboard.

During the Rolette game, Rugby’s Brad Heidlebaugh hit a ball so far out of the park it could have been major league, according to his coach.

“That home run rallied the whole team,” said Coach Jim Cameron.

The two teams were tied in the fourth inning 6-6. They stayed neck to neck in the fifth, each team adding 4 to the scoreboard. In the sixth Rugby brought in 5 runs to Rolette’s one. The game ended in the seventh inning after Rolette did not get any runs.

“We did a good job coming back when we were down,” said Cameron. “The team pulled together all through the line-up to get the win.”

Check the Scoreboard for other highlights of the tourney.

The second game was against Bottineau and they kept Rugby scoreless with the exception of one run by Heidlebaugh in the fourth inning. Rugby was able to keep them scoreless for innings 3 and 4. The game ended with a score of Bottineau 6 and Rugby 1. Evan Burkhard pitched for Rugby. He had 2 BBs and 7 Ks.

Rugby and Cando played the third game with Rugby squeaking by Cando 3-1. The two teams were tied 2-2 after the third inning until Rugby earned a home run in the sixth inning.

Brad Heidlebaugh who only made one hit out of 3 at bats made it count with a homerun. Bennie Mygland was the winning pitcher. Mygland walked 1 and struck out 2.

“It was a well-played game on both sides,” said Cameron. “The home run gave us a lift when we needed it.”

In the final game the two top teams in the league faced each other once again. Bottineau effectively shut out Rugby and won the championship 4-0.

“We had a great season and tournament,” said Cameron. “These boys never quit. They are a great group of young men to work with.”

Rugby will lose only 3 players for next year’s team.