By MADELINE REIDA

Staff writer

The Cottonwood Valley League All-Stars were asked to play in Midwest regionals at Minot, North Dakota, after placing third in a Cal Ripken state tournament last weekend.

Their next challenge was to raise enough money to cover travel costs.

Parents of team members thought up a bake sale. They were posted Monday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. outside Lanning Pharmacy with a table of goods.

The team, composed of Easton Babcock, Carter Darrow, Maddox Hesley, Evan Klenda, Graham Matlock, Jameson Moss, Oliver Norris, Jay Raymer, and Trent Sprowls, split tasks of running the table, advertising with homemade signs on city corners, and hitting sidewalks and local businesses to promote the sale.

Mothers and grandmothers provided most of the baked goods.

“I made raspberry Pop Tarts,” Graham Matlock said.

The drive to Minot is 14 hours, but it’s no deterrent for the team. Most members have been playing sports since they were old enough for blast ball.

The sale even encountered a Minot resident visiting Kansas.

“We should’ve gotten his number!” one of the moms said.