Freeport Softball/Baseball

Freeport

SOFTBALL & BASEBALL

Photo courtesy from www.freeportmn.org

Little

LEAGUE

There is no sign proclaiming Freeport the Softball Capital of the World, nation, state or county. But if it wanted to, the town could make a good argument for that case. Freeport has 40 sanctioned softball teams in four diff erent leagues. Freeport has some nice advantages for those wishing to play on its diamonds. One of the biggest is that the community is easily accessible from I-94. Another is that the diamonds are very good diamonds. Those advantages mean there are a number of people coming into Freeport. While some of them do play on more than one team, it is still very likely that in any given week during the summer, there are more people coming to play softball in the community, than actually live here. According to the state demographer, Freeport had a population of 632 people in 2010. There is a diversifi cation of the leagues. There is a co-rec slow pitch, a men’s slow pitch and a fast pitch league. The men’s slow pitch is unique. It is a wood bat league. The community also boasts two lighted diamonds.

Little League baseball returned to Freeport after many years of being nonexistent. Bud Heidgerken, who runs the Freeport Men’s Fast Pitch League (17 teams), felt it was needed as a feeder program for both fast pitch and the Black Sox. “If kids don’t play ball when they are young, they won’t play ball when they are adults.”

Eight years ago, with the assistance of the Stearns Little Dipper League, kids’ baseball began again in Freeport. Girls’ fast pitch (grade 1-6) was also started. Once the boys are too old for Little League, Bud has steered them into the

Men’s Fast Pitch League (lower division).

He does this every other year and pitches for them, at the same time allowing anyone who wants to try pitching to do so.

For more information

Bud Heidgerken at (320) 836-2823