For the New Salem Naturals, a season isn’t dictated by their win-loss record. As of July 8th, they have one win on the season. But when you ask the players, they look beyond the score.

“I feel like we’ve really been developing as a team,” says New Salem’s Evan Henke. “We get more and more work done every day and get better every week. But I mean, as of right now, we aren’t where we want to be, but I think we’ll get there as soon as regional starts”

Evan Henke is one of the leaders on a young team. A team that knows its going to make mistakes on the field, but it’s their mentality that can take them far.

“Just the positivity,” Manager Tyrone Deutch says. “Staying positive in what we’re doing and not getting down. We’ve had a few errors here and there. The older kids get to help the younger ones along.”

“We’re a small team,” says New Salem’s Tyler Selzler. “We’re a really small team so we all get a long very well. And if someone is falling behind then we all go pick them up.”

New Salem is a team that has a good opportunity to make the state tournament despite their record. With Hazen hosting the state tournament, two teams can come out of their district, a one and three chance at competing for a state title.

“If that’s what happens, that’s what happens,” Henke says. “It’s great, but if it doesn’t, we’re still going to enjoy the season and enjoy each and every one of us and just enjoy baseball.”

“You can have hope,” says Selzler. “We’re just going to play each game at a time. If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. We’ll still have fun.”

And that winning attitude could build momentum as the postseason nears.

The district tournaments for Class B starts on July 23rd where New Salem travels to Hettinger to compete for their chance at a trip to Hazen at State…