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Jun. 17—MITCHELL — After almost exactly three years, Post 18 American Legion baseball is officially back in Mitchell.
Revived by the Palace City Baseball Association, Post 18 played its first home game since June 20, 2023 — a span of 1,092 days — on Tuesday night, emerging with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over visitors from Helena (Mont.) under the stadium lights at Cadwell Park.
The PCBA ushered in the community's new era of summer baseball with a series of special events to mark the occasion. The Post 18 Legion color guard presented the stars and stripes and a special edition flag for the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Quinten Wilson, a Post 18 player and recently graduated senior from Mitchell High School, performed the national anthem on a trumpet. Mayor Jordan Hanson threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
"These kids deserve it," said PCBA president Jeff McCormick. "This moment is huge, and just getting to watch our kids play baseball on this field means a lot. My biggest goal is accomplished. We get to watch them play baseball again."
McCormick said the payoff for many months of hard work by the PCBA organization was well worth the wait, and the moment he looked forward to the most was seeing the Post 18 players run out onto the field for the first time.
"I've been looking forward to this moment for my whole life. I got to watch Legion games out here, and I've always wanted to play out here, but I've never gotten to," said PCBA player Carter McCormick, a 2026 MHS graduate. "This moment is very special for our whole team. This season, every game means a lot more to us."
Though the varsity-level club has been in action for two weeks, and younger PCBA programs started even earlier, there was still something left to be unlocked until the club made its first home appearance at Cadwell. A large banner is now on display on the wall in right-center field, reading: "Home of Post 18, Palace City Baseball."
"It feels amazing to be here, and it's incredible to have the community backing us. It's worthy of the festivities and opening ceremonies," said PCBA Post 18 head coach Caleb Crist. "We couldn't be more proud of where we're at and where we're going as a program."
In September, PCBA was formed as a breakaway group from the Mitchell Baseball Association, with a desire to move forward from criminal activity by past players that stopped Legion baseball in Mitchell since the summer of 2023. The South Dakota American Legion required a new organizational structure in order to sanction Mitchell's teams to play again.
Last summer, an 18-and-under Mitchell baseball team unaffiliated with the American Legion faced a schedule almost exclusively made up of out-of-state opponents, and the majority of games were played on the road.
Now, the PCBA club is back playing its traditional South Dakota opponents. They'll host their first such contest in the form of a doubleheader against Renner Post 307 on Wednesday, June 17, starting at 5 p.m. at Cadwell.
"We're excited about (the home debut), but we're also excited for the future," Jeff McCormick said. "Watching kids play baseball with their friends, not only on their team, but their friends from Yankton, from Watertown, from all the communities they play basketball, football, golf and whatever other sports against. That's the part that's going to be really exciting."
For as much energy and enthusiasm as was wrapped up in Tuesday night, PCBA players and coaches hope putting the milestone moment behind them will help finally turn the page as they begin to author their own chapter of Post 18 American Legion baseball.
"Moving forward, I just want us to stay focused on baseball," Crist said. "We're here to compete, and we're here to win. We're just going to try and show up and do that every single day, whether it's at practice or in a game, and I'm incredibly excited."
"We've done everything we needed to do to get to this point," Carter McCormick added. "Now, we really just want to go play baseball."
Continue reading...
Revived by the Palace City Baseball Association, Post 18 played its first home game since June 20, 2023 — a span of 1,092 days — on Tuesday night, emerging with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over visitors from Helena (Mont.) under the stadium lights at Cadwell Park.
The PCBA ushered in the community's new era of summer baseball with a series of special events to mark the occasion. The Post 18 Legion color guard presented the stars and stripes and a special edition flag for the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Quinten Wilson, a Post 18 player and recently graduated senior from Mitchell High School, performed the national anthem on a trumpet. Mayor Jordan Hanson threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
"These kids deserve it," said PCBA president Jeff McCormick. "This moment is huge, and just getting to watch our kids play baseball on this field means a lot. My biggest goal is accomplished. We get to watch them play baseball again."
McCormick said the payoff for many months of hard work by the PCBA organization was well worth the wait, and the moment he looked forward to the most was seeing the Post 18 players run out onto the field for the first time.
"I've been looking forward to this moment for my whole life. I got to watch Legion games out here, and I've always wanted to play out here, but I've never gotten to," said PCBA player Carter McCormick, a 2026 MHS graduate. "This moment is very special for our whole team. This season, every game means a lot more to us."
Though the varsity-level club has been in action for two weeks, and younger PCBA programs started even earlier, there was still something left to be unlocked until the club made its first home appearance at Cadwell. A large banner is now on display on the wall in right-center field, reading: "Home of Post 18, Palace City Baseball."
"It feels amazing to be here, and it's incredible to have the community backing us. It's worthy of the festivities and opening ceremonies," said PCBA Post 18 head coach Caleb Crist. "We couldn't be more proud of where we're at and where we're going as a program."
In September, PCBA was formed as a breakaway group from the Mitchell Baseball Association, with a desire to move forward from criminal activity by past players that stopped Legion baseball in Mitchell since the summer of 2023. The South Dakota American Legion required a new organizational structure in order to sanction Mitchell's teams to play again.
Last summer, an 18-and-under Mitchell baseball team unaffiliated with the American Legion faced a schedule almost exclusively made up of out-of-state opponents, and the majority of games were played on the road.
Now, the PCBA club is back playing its traditional South Dakota opponents. They'll host their first such contest in the form of a doubleheader against Renner Post 307 on Wednesday, June 17, starting at 5 p.m. at Cadwell.
"We're excited about (the home debut), but we're also excited for the future," Jeff McCormick said. "Watching kids play baseball with their friends, not only on their team, but their friends from Yankton, from Watertown, from all the communities they play basketball, football, golf and whatever other sports against. That's the part that's going to be really exciting."
For as much energy and enthusiasm as was wrapped up in Tuesday night, PCBA players and coaches hope putting the milestone moment behind them will help finally turn the page as they begin to author their own chapter of Post 18 American Legion baseball.
"Moving forward, I just want us to stay focused on baseball," Crist said. "We're here to compete, and we're here to win. We're just going to try and show up and do that every single day, whether it's at practice or in a game, and I'm incredibly excited."
"We've done everything we needed to do to get to this point," Carter McCormick added. "Now, we really just want to go play baseball."
Continue reading...
