Ekalaka defeats Camp Crook with walk-off hit

A team of eleven scrappy softball players from Ekalaka traveled to Camp Crook last Friday to take on eleven of Camp Crook's finest in what was a game for the ages.

A few year's back, Crook put in a field on the outskirts of town, and the Hard Pan Ranch League was born. Since then, Crook regularly holds pickup games on Friday nights as ranching allows, and occasionally a few Ekalaka players travel over and play.

Last Friday, though, Ekalaka put together a full team for a true showdown against their South Dakota rival.

Ekalaka hasn't had a field for a number of years, and the Ekalaka All-Stars did show some signs of rust over the first few innings of the contest. Several errors in the first inning led to a big early lead for Crook. As the game progressed, Ekalaka cleaned up their defense and their bats came alive.

Ekalaka's Zeb Wright had an exceptional pitching performance, even behind a lackluster defense at the start. Wright admitted before the game that he had not played an ounce of softball for over 15 years, but after a 10 minute warm-up the wily veteran showed he still has a golden arm. He compiled three strikeouts throughout the evening and also showed exceptional footwork fielding from his position.

A major turning point for the All-Stars came when left-center fielder Zach Elmore made an unbelievable leaping catch on a hard-hit line drive in the third inning, robbing Crook of at least two-runs. Shortly after, Bill Kalstrom started making difficult plays look routine from the shortstop position, and Ekalaka's defense was suddenly on track. Even third baseman Tye Williams, who came out of retirement for the game, showed that he can still handle the hot corner.

Neither team managed to hit a dinger in the contest, but there were a few in-the-parkers. Ekalaka played mostly small ball while Camp Crook's lineup did feature three power hitters who hit some balls deep. None, though, could take Wright out of the yard. Crook's Luke Basler hit one ball off the fence and switch hitting Ryan Cordell hit two big gappers, one from each side of the plate. Their other power hitter, Brandon Padden, looked out of sorts for the majority of the contest.

The possible game-winning play came in the fourth inning for the All-Stars when a Crook base running error and a great throw led to a rundown between third and home. Around 8 defensive players ended up getting in on the play and the runner was eventually tagged out.

Travis Walker was certainly the game's unlikely MVP. Walker played a fine game at the catcher position, but it was his heroics on the base path that earned him the honor. Determined to score, Walker rounded third base à la Willie Mays. Then, halfway home a turf monster grabbed his ankle and took him down. But with the game tightening, Walker knew he needed to score and by sheer willpower crawled home before being thrown out.

The All-Stars were nearly down double-digits early, but came all the way back and eventually won the game with two outs remaining in the bottom of the final inning. Amy Walker scored the game winning run for Ekalaka. Unlike her husband, she didn't trip when she rounded third and headed for home.

After the game Camp Crook was gracious in defeat and treated Ekalaka players to a barbecue. The two teams hope to have a rematch in the near future. The game will likely be played in Crook again as Ekalaka still does not have a field.

A group of baseball and softball enthusiasts from the area is meeting with local officials this week in hopes of getting a new diamond built in Ekalaka by next year. With a little bit of practice at a new field, the All-Stars should be able to improve and become a formidable opponent for any team within the tri-state area.