MITCHELL — Cadwell Park was dotted with purple and gold Wednesday. 

In the opening session of the Class B state amateur baseball tournament, Plankinton was well represented as the town’s two teams — Bankers and Gold Sox — were playing back-to-back games. It was another appearance for the Bankers, a tourney regular, and the first-ever berth for the Gold Sox, in its second season of existence. 

“It’s a great thing for the town of Plankinton and all their fans,” Pony Hills League commissioner Brock Sundall said. “They get to come watch both teams in one night.”

The Plankinton fans definitely came out in droves. The Bankers and Gold Sox, who share the same purple and gold-color scheme, had a tailgate party at 4:30 p.m. The Bankers weren’t scheduled to play until 7:30 p.m., but were at Cadwell Park well before and lined up behind the Gold Sox dugout prior to their game against Garretson.

“Usually we are here an hour, hour and a half before our game,” Plankinton Bankers’ manager Chris Hill said. “Well, today we got here at about 4:30. Everybody was celebrating and having a good time. So that’s kind of what it’s all about.” 

In addition to regular Gold Sox and Bankers T-shirts spotted in the stands, this year’s state tournament T-shirts featured logos for both teams to commemorate the occasion.

“It’s so special for the whole town,” said Gold Sox manager Tom Harris, who thanked the team’s sponsors and fans for their support this season. “I can’t tell you how much it means to the former Bankers, like me, Marcus (Hill), Tye (Harris). I tell you what, those guys (Bankers) have helped us all season with advice on everything, all the way up to the state tournament here. They were our biggest fans and we couldn’t ask for a better big brother team so-to-speak.” 

The Plankinton fans in attendance, coupled with two amateur teams, demonstrates how popular baseball is in the town of 700 people. 

“It shows the interest of baseball in Plank,” Sundall said. “That interest has trickled up from the youth ranks. They’ve got teams at every level and baseball is really quite popular in Plankinton right now.” 

Baseball fans for the Plankinton Bankers and Plankinton Gold Sox watch the action on Wednesday at Cadwell Park. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Chris Hill echoed Sundall’s sentiments, noting how four total teams from Plankinton made their respective state tournaments this season. 

“Plankinton baseball is unreal,” Hill said. “... The youth program is good right now. The older program is doing good and you could see that we brought a pretty good crowd again. So it’s fun.”

The Bankers won the Pony Hills League championship with a 12-2 league record, including three total wins over their cross-town friends. The Gold Sox, meanwhile, finished 5-9 in the league and captured one of District 3B’s five spots to the tourney.

The Bankers dropped a 13-0 decision in seven innings against Garretson. The Gold Sox dropped a 6-2 decision against the Madison Broncos in their tourney debut.   

“We just didn’t quite get the hits at the right time,” Tom Harris said, “but man what a fun experience, especially for some of these guys. It was their first state tournament ever. I am really proud of them. It’s a really great feeling to come this far.”