Ortonville Baseball Loses A Legend, Hopes To Win State
ORTONVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) – Like a lot of small town baseball parks, the Ortonville baseball field is heaven to the boys of summer.
"I've been playing baseball since I was a kid," said John Thomas.
This year his town team is celebrating his first state tournament appearance since 1969.
"It's been a goal of ours for a long time," said Thomas. "Honestly it feels very surreal. It feels like a dream that I'm going to wake up from at any minute."
There is something missing. John Thomas' father Ron was Mr. Baseball here. He managed the town team. He died of heart complications this past offseason.
"How many guys get to say they played for their dad, let alone playing for their dad for so many years?" said Thomas. "To not have him here is going to be tough."
So they move on to the state tournament with heavy hearts, knowing their biggest fan will be watching.
"It was our goal since 2007. We ended up short every year. So many times we lost third, fourth place in regions, just shy of going to state," Thomas said. "It'll be great. It'll be bittersweet, but it'll be a rush."
