KIMBALL -- The American Legion Baseball league will include a Kimball team for the first time in eight years. 

The summer season will kick off May 26 with a home game against Gering. 

American Legion Baseball is a nation-wide amateur athletic league that brings baseball to areas that don’t offer it in the schools. 

“In states like Nebraska and Wyoming a lot of the schools don’t have a baseball team, predominately because of the weather, so American Legion is the top level of what amateur baseball is for high school-aged kids,” said Craig Markum, the upcoming coach for the Kimball team. 

Markum coaches recreational leagues in the summer including softball, soccer, and baseball for younger kids. A lot of kids have shown interest in having a community youth baseball program, especially as the boys he has been coaching are aging out of the younger baseball league. 

“I’ve coached these boys since they were 7 and 8 years old, so I've always put it in their minds that the goal is to make it to this level,” Markum said. “They’ve continued to push each other until we have finally been able to make it happen this year.” 

Markum began working with American Legion officials in January to register a team in Kimball. He got connected with the American Legion post in Bushnell and the Umpire Association to get a proper umpire for the team. 

“It’s good that the community is showing that there are still options for baseball in junior high and high school,” Markum said. “It shows that we have a group of kids who have been playing for quite a while and have been committed to playing baseball in high school.” 

The Kimball team will be participating in the junior division which consists of kids ages 13-16. 

“Now we are going to be playing the best of the best,” Markum said. “The league we are going to be in includes Gering, Alliance, Sidney, Chadron and Gordan. So, we are adding a sixth team to this league for the first time in a long time.” 

Below is the schedule for the summer, and all the dates are double headers. 

  • May 29 at Sidney 
  • June 2 at Alliance 
  • June 12 at Gering 
  • June 16 home vs. Sidney 
  • June 19 home vs. Alliance 
  • June 20-21 in Gordan vs. Chadron and Gordan (4 total games) 
  • June 23 home vs. Chadron 
  • June 26 home vs. Gordon 
  • June 27-29 Conference Tournament in Alliance 
  • July 8 at Sidney 
  • July 11-13 Districts in Gordon