Flandreau Blue Teal makes amateur baseball debut in 2024

FLANDREAU — A rise in the popularity of amateur baseball in Flandreau has garnered a second team for the 2024 season, the Flandreau Blue Teal.
The decision to create a second team was due to many wanting to join the amateur baseball scene, with just nine positions on one team.
There was just a lot of interest, close to 30 players wanting to play Flandreau baseball, Blue Teal player Kolby Peters said. Ultimately it was like Do we have 30 guys on one team, or what better way to represent Flandreau than to have 18 guys on the field than just nine.
The Blue Teal will be part of the Cornbelt League, one of South Dakotas most prestigious and competitive leagues featuring teams like the Dell Rapids Mudcats, Canova Gang, and even the Flandreau Cardinals.
Geographically, you couldve made a case for the startup to be part of the Eastern Dakota League, with teams like the Volga Cormorants and Elkton Snappers, but the Blue Teal were eager for the challenge.
We always wanted to get into the Cornbelt, weve grown up watching Cardinal baseball and we know how competitive it is, Peters said. Thats ultimately why we wanted to be in the Cornbelt, we get to play our hometown Flandreau Cardinals a couple times a year and be in probably the most competitive league in the state.
Peters said hes excited to kindle a new amateur baseball rivalry right in the town of Flandreau. Despite the first Flandreau showdown being a month away, the trash talk has already begun.
I know a lot of guys are pumped, theres obviously a lot of trash talk between the two teams, but in a fun competitive way, Peters said. People are looking forward to it. We even have Sam Gassman on our team and his older brother plays for the Cardinals. So, were going to have a bit of a brother matchup there.
The team consists of 14 players, ranging from the ages of 19-24, making them one of the youngest teams in amateur baseball.
Despite being a younger team, Peters says its been an awesome experience for the team and has earned plenty of support from the community.
Were a little bit younger but to get these guys starting to get these guys playing in the amateur league right now is a big deal, Peters said. The community was super supportive, and we got a lot of help from businesses and other families that were willing to donate and just do anything they can to get things running.
Five of the 14 Blue Teal players currently play college sports, four of whom play college baseball for Dakota Wesleyan University.
Flandreau native Tanner Christenson, Sioux Falls natives Tristin Van Wassenhove and Mason Riley, as well as Alaska native Brenden Gregory, are all on the Tigers baseball team. Christenson, Van Wassenhove, and Riley just finished their freshmen seasons, while Gregory finished his sophomore campaign.
On top of the four college baseball players is Tash Lunday, who just finished up an excellent sophomore season on the basketball court for the Mount Marty Lancers, averaging 13.1 points and six rebounds per game this past season.
Among Wassenhove, Riley, and Gregory, the Blue Teal decided to add more pitching depth for their final release spot, adding Sioux Falls Washington graduate Gage Sharping to the mix.
When coming up with the teams name and color scheme, it took some time before things started to come together, even taking inspiration from other higher levels of baseball.
We had a name in mind right away, but we really couldnt come up with good colors, and a good logo to fit it all, so we just looked at some minor league teams just to get some ideas flowing, Peters said. We were looking at some logos online and were like Dude, this bird looks really cool. So, we kind of played around with it, made something of our own, and came up with the Blue Teal duck.
After figuring out a name, logo, and roster, the Flandreau Blue Teal made their debut against the Lennox/Chancellor/Worthing Dirt Devils last Sunday, collecting 13 hits in the 7-6 comeback victory.
Despite the win, Peters said the nerves in the dugout of their first amateur game in history were nothing short of high.
That first inning we made a couple of dumb plays that shouldve been outs, but you could just tell the nerves were flowing, especially everyones first couple at-bats you could tell we were tense, Peters said. Toward the middle of the game, we said This is baseball, weve all played it, lets just go out and have fun.
But the early season jitters didnt last long, earning a 16-3 mercy rule win over the Hartford-Humboldt Wood Ducks on May 16, adding another 16 hits including four doubles and two triples.
Of course, the amateur season is long, and baseball in May isnt as important as it is in July and August, but the Flandreau Blue Teal may be sending an early message of whats to come from them this season.
Weve got a lot of competitive guys; our manager Mark Hoffman is super competitive as well, Peters said. Weve said we dont want to have too high of expectations, but I said, Were going to be one of the seven teams to make the state tournament, no matter how ugly its going to be, and ultimately, our goal is to make it to the state tournament and make a name for ourselves in this league.