Eight teams to compete in second annual Legion state softball tournament

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

New York Mills will become to center of softball in Minnesota this weekend as the community hosts the second annual Legion state softball tournament.  ¶  Similar to Legion baseball, which has been around since the early 1900s, Legion softball pits softball programs against one another throughout the summer. This past season a total of 27 teams from across the state fielded a Legion softball team, including New York Mills. Last year’s state tournament was held in North Mankato, which is the site of the high school state softball tournament.  ¶  In an effort to move the state tournament a round a bit from year-to-year, NY Mills High School softball coach Bryan Dunrud was approached by Michael Arvidson from Parkers Prairie to gage the interest of NY Mills hosting the state tournament in 2023.

“Michael Arvidson of Parkers Prairie has been pushing this along and he has kind of been the organizer of everything,” said Dunrud. “Legion baseball has been around for a long time so he has been trying to get this organized so it can be a conclusion, or a state tournament, that is similar to state baseball.”

Dunrud credited Arvidson for helping to organize a Legion softball league in Minnesota, so when he asked if NY Mills would be interested in bringing eight of the top Legion softball teams in the state to town, the opportunity was something he couldn’t pass up.

“We thought it would be a good opportunity to grow the game and showcase a little bit of the work we have done in NY Mills and the city itself,” said Dunrud.

As the host school NY Mills earned an automatic berth in the state tournament. This past season they competed in the northwest division with the likes of Millerville, Osakis and Parkers Prairie. There are seven divisions across the state.

The weekend will include a banquet at the NY Mills VFW on Friday night, before softball gets underway on Saturday and Sunday. The games on Saturday will be held at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., while the games on Sunday will be held at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. All of the games will be held at the newly renovated Lund Park. 

Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students and children ages 5 ad under are free. 

“Hopefully we get some people to come in and watch and just have a good day,” said Dunrud.