An annual event is coming up this weekend in the city of Rippey.
Bruce Thome, with the Rippey Ballpark Commission, is hosting Rippey Ruckus, where four teams from the Midwest that participate in their respective 50 and older leagues come together to play on the Walt Anderson Field. He points out that the teams are all returners from previous years, and some have played in the Rippey Ruckus since its inception in 2021.
Thome states that the teams include the Rippey Demons, St. Michael’s Angels from St. Paul, Minnesota, the Kansas City Bulls from Missouri and the Chicago Eagles from Illinois. He notes that the games start tomorrow at 2:30pm with the Demons and the Bulls, followed by the Angels against the Eagles around 5pm. Thome says the round-robin format goes through Saturday, with Sunday being teams seeding for the chance to play in the championship.
Thome explains that Rippey Ruckus got its start after he and others played against some teams from Minnesota in 2020 and they agreed to come to Iowa to play baseball. Thome shares what happened next that led to the formation of the Rippey Ruckus.
“Dave Hick played on my team in Des Moines, and he’s from Rippey, and he’s like, ‘Oh, I know about this field over here that Mel Merkin’s been working on for a few years.’ So I went out there and looked at it and met Mel and the rest is history. We kind of helped him with his vision and make the field look good.”
Thome adds that there is no admission charge for any of the games, but free-will donations will be accepted to help continue to maintain and improve the field. He says concession food will also be available for purchase. The full game schedule can be found below.
Friday’s games:
- Rippey vs Kansas City (2:30pm)
- Minnesota vs. Chicago (5pm)
Saturday’s games:
- Rippey vs. Chicago (10am)
- Minnesota vs. Kansas City (12:30pm)
- Chicago vs. Kansas City (3pm)
- Rippey vs. Minnesota (5:30pm)
Sunday’s games:
- 3rd seed vs. 4th seed (10am)
- 1st seed vs 2nd seed (12:30pm)