RAPID CITY - The Rapid City Post 22 hard hats went into last week's Class A Legion 3A Regional tournament in Pierre carrying with them the first losing record (28-29) in the 44 years that head coach Dave Ploof has managed the program. The lesser numbers might have been a matter of concern for a coach who did not have years of experience preparing his team for tournament competition.

"We are an awfully young ballclub and you can never know how they are going to play," Ploof said. "We have come a long way this summer. We've played the toughest schedule in the state of South Dakota by far, and while we've been beaten by some awfully good teams, we've also beaten some awfully good teams.

"For example, on our schedule we've played 10 defending state champions. So [speaking of the regional tournament] I didn't know how they are going to react, but we went up there to play the game the very best we can play and see what happens."

What happened is that the hard hats swept three games on their way to the region title, and another trip to the South Dakota American Legion State A Tournament in Aberdeen beginning on Wednesday.

And Post 22 not only won, but it won convincingly, winning the first two tournament games via the 10-run rule - a 13-3 triumph over Pierre, and a 12-2 thrashing of Spearfish - and then defeating Rapid City Post 320 7-2 in the title tilt.

And the hard hats won playing Dave Ploof baseball, getting excellent pitching from starters Kolton Emery, Sam Wolff, and J.J. Johnson, good defense, timely hitting and an outstanding team effort.

So again, on to the state tournament - Ploof estimates the 40th or 41st trip - this year at Aberdeen's Fossum Field, and a Wednesday 9 a.m. MDT first-round matchup with Watertown Post 17.

Ploof does not know a great deal about Watertown other than what he saw of it during the team's appearance in the Rich Hinseth Agency tournament at Fitzgerald Stadium in mid-July. As always, Ploof's concern is with his own team, not the people in the other dugout.

"We don't worry too much about what the other people are going to do. We are going up there to play the game the very best that we can," he said.

The hard hats have been led all year by a potent top of the batting order, with center fielder Parker Sullivan and second baseman Jordan Mette setting the table, and shortstop Wolff, catcher Dana Hill, DH Brock Estes, and OF Steven Ficken providing the punch.

Through a good portion of the season, the team struggled at the bottom end of the order. However, as the season has progressed, younger players have begun to produce as well. Jarrett Jensen, Emery and Jake Bohne have used the tough competition to mature at the plate.

"We play an outstanding schedule which allows our players to hone their skills," Ploof said. "We've done that year after year and we've been quite successful."

As to whether this year's team is ready for the Class A tournament, Coach Ploof remains resolute in his approach as to playing the game the way it should be played and letting the results speak for themselves.

"I like to play good baseball at the beginning of the year and just get better," Ploof said. "We've been doing that, and while we don't know how well we'll do since baseball is a humbling game, we hope to do well."

Certainly to this point, few have done it better.