The 2025 Cando Post 79 Bearcats (photo courtesy of Parker Simon).
While the Devils Lake Storm A team battled in Casselton this past weekend, the best Class B Legion teams in the state were dueling in their own tournament in Park River.
Cando Post 79, after winning the District 3 tournament, went two-and-out. Langdon Post 98 beat Cando in the first round before falling to the host, Park River Post 147.
Thompson Post 181 ended up winning the tournament. Thompson’s catcher, Dex Avdem, survived a mid-game health scare on Sunday before returning for the championship game.
Cando’s final ride
The Bearcats took losses of 8-2 and 12-2 to end their season.
They fell to Linton/Ashley/Wishek in nine innings on Friday to fall to the losers’ bracket. Hunter Hagler turned in a strong outing, holding the Rattlers to one run over six innings with seven strikeouts. Cando led 2-0 after a triple by Karsen Simon and an RBI single by Parker Simon.
But the Rattlers rallied to tie it against P. Simon in the seventh, getting a bunt single and scoring on a wild pitch. The teams were in a 2-2 landlock until L/A/W broke out for six runs in the top of the ninth. All six runs were charged to K. Simon, who threw three innings of relief, but only one of the runs was earned.
Cando loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t push anything across.
P. Simon, K. Simon and Gauge Driessen each reached three times in the loss.
The Bearcats moved to a Saturday matchup with the Langdon Post 98 Red Sox, who had lost to the eventual champion, Thompson, in the opening round.
Langdon rode a five-run fourth and a four-run fifth to run-rule Cando 12-2 in the bottom of the sixth. P. Simon threw 88 pitches, and the Red Sox got him for seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings. Simon struck out five batters and walked four.
Cando recorded just one hit in the game: a two-run triple by Rylen Anderson that gave it a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. The Bearcats drew seven walks but couldn’t respond to the Red Sox, who tied it in the third inning and ran away with it in the fourth.
Brody Svir went 0-for-0 with three walks. Hagler had a pair of stolen bases.
Cando committed four errors.
The early exit brought an end to the Legion baseball careers of the Simons and Driessen. Cando went 17-8 overall this summer, per the team’s GameChanger, and made it to the state tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
Langdon’s run ends
Langdon fell to Thompson 10-0 in the first round on Friday. Thompson scored eight in the third, run-ruling the Red Sox in five innings. Langdon only recorded one hit, while the Thompson offense got to Theo Romfo for eight runs (six earned) on six hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.
In Saturday’s 12-2 win over Cando, Langdon got three-hit performances from both Theo and Mason Romfo, along with Devin Hakanson. All three of T. Romfo’s hits were doubles.
M. Romfo pitched three hitless, scoreless innings of relief to hold the Cando offense at bay.
The Red Sox’ offense totaled 13 hits and eight walks in five-plus innings.
Langdon made it to Sunday, where it took a 12-0 run-rule loss to Park River to end its season. The Pirates scored eight in the second inning to run away with it.
Tyson Gemmill and Nicholas Kingzett recorded the only two hits for Langdon.
The Red Sox finished their season 19-10 overall, per the team’s GameChanger.
Park River went on to beat L/A/W in the next round of the losers’ bracket, then fell to LaMoure Post 19 in the championship play-in game.
Tommies emerge victorious
The inspiring story of the tournament came from Avdem, Thompson’s catcher. He was hit by a ball during Sunday’s game, and his heart reportedly stopped and a defibrillator had to be used on him. Medical professionals on the scene managed to revive him.
The game went on without Avdem. Thompson held on to beat LaMoure in a 2-1 pitchers’ duel.
Avdem was flown to a hospital in Fargo, receiving the honorary game ball along the way. Per reporting from the Grand Forks Herald, he made it back to Park River during the third inning of Monday’s championship game against LaMoure.
His teammates went on to score seven runs that inning. Thompson run-ruled LaMoure 10-0 to emerge as the tournament champion.
Thompson was the 2023 Class B Legion state champion as well, and the runner-up in 2024.
At the Class A tournament in Casselton, volunteers were accepting donations in support of Avdem and his family.
