BRANDON — The Parkston Devil Rays started from the bottom, and now they’re here. 

The Parkston Devil Rays etched their name in South Dakota amateur baseball lore on Sunday, capping off an improbable run to the Class B state championship. The Devil Rays, in their third season of existence and playing in their first-ever state tournament, are the state champs — a statement not even they could believe. 

“It’s tough to wrap my head around this, that we just did this,” Devil Ray manager Doug Sudbeck said. “But we did.”

When the final out was recorded in a wild 10-8 comeback win over the Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks, it culminated three years in the making for the Devil Rays. Parkston won five games in 2023, nine games in 2024 and finished last in the Sunshine League its first two seasons. 

The 2025 campaign didn’t start swimmingly for the Devil Rays, who started the season with a 1-4 record. 

“It’s like ‘Oh boy, here we go again,’ ” said Devil Ray player Landon Sudbeck, Doug’s son. “It could be another long year. But we just kept believing in each other, and that’s what it was. We believed in each other. We just played hard and it’s great to bring one back to Parkston.” 

The Parkston Rays celebrate after defeating the Hartford-Humboldt Gamecocks 10-8 to capture the Class B amateur baseball championship on Sunday, August 17, 2025 in Brandon. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

The Devil Rays turned the tide, tied for second in the Sunshine League, finished the dream season with a 20-9 record, and have a rare distinction of being undefeated in the state tournament (5-0).

The Devil Rays also went through a gauntlet in the state tournament, knocking off district champs Madison, Kimball/White Lake and Alexandria. They also defeated 2024 state champ Dell Rapids PBR, and another Cornbelt League team Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks in the title game. 

“This is the thing we’ve been working on for three years,” Landon Sudbeck said. “The guys that have been here through the dog days, you have to give them credit just for sticking it out.” 

Landon Sudbeck was instrumental in organizing the Devil Rays in 2023, and was joined by a host of fellow 20-year old players. The youth was evident in the inaugural season. 

“We were getting bullied out there for a while,” Landon Sudbeck said. “It was hard to stay positive. It was really hard just to keep everyone around. Just because no one wants to play on a losing team. But it was just that belief. We got it together.”

Parkston pitcher Jake Helleloid, the 2025 state tournament MVP, was on the inaugural team in 2023 and said the progression from Sunshine League doormat to a state championship was “amazing.”

“We’ve just been getting better every year, better and better every game,” Helleloid said. “We’ve got guys showing up day in and day out.”

The Devil Rays received a significant boost in the offseason when Doug Sudbeck took over the managerial reins, while Dave Soulek and Cody Larson also provided a veteran presence in the dugout. 

“We needed a veteran aspect to our team,” Helleloid said. “We were just a bunch of young college kids that didn’t really have anyone to hold us accountable. It was huge adding him, Cody and Dave Soulek.”

Doug Sudbeck, a veteran amateur baseball player and long-time Parkston coach, joined the Devil Rays after a long playing career with the Dimock-Emery Raptors.

Sudbeck knew the potential was there, but the Devil Rays needed the right direction to make it all come together.  

“When they first started they were a great ballclub,” said Doug Sudbeck, who received a lifetime pass to the amateur baseball tournament during the championship game. “They just didn't quite figure out how to win, and this year and last year they started winning a little bit more. This year they figured it out. You don’t give up. You just keep playing hard, and good things will happen.”

Parkston Devil Rays manager Doug Sudbeck receives a lifetime pass from South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association vice president Bob Altenburg during the Class B championship game of the 2025 South Dakota State Amateur Baseball Tournament Sunday, August 17, 2025 in Brandon. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

It also meant a pair of father-and-sons were sharing the field together. Dave Soulek’s son, Dylan, is Parkston’s reliable shortstop. For Doug Sudbeck, it was a chance to coach his son again. 

“I have been wanting to play with him for numerous years,” Doug said. “I finally came on board and played with him this year. It was awesome. You can’t ask for anything more.” 

Landon, who was the Devil Ray manager in 2023 and ‘24, said his father provided the right managerial decisions needed for the turnaround. The father and son are now state champs on the same team. 

“It’s special to share the field again with my dad,” Landon Sudbeck said. “He had a few years over in Dimock-Emery — now in Parkston where I grew up. He coached in Parkston for years, still is coaching. So to bring one back to a community where we grew up and where he’s spent a lot of time, it’s awesome.”

The state championship also added another trophy to a town rich in baseball history. The Parkston Mudcats won amateur baseball titles in 1968, 2012, and ‘15. This season, Parkston won state championships in the 10U, 12U and junior Legion, while the 14U and Legion teams finished as state runners-up. 

“Parkston is a rich community in baseball and to bring another championship home is awesome — for the town, for the Rays, for everyone,” Doug Sudbeck said. “I can’t say enough about it. It’s great for the town.”