The Midway Snurdbirds are an amateur baseball team that competes in the Lake and Pine League which is part of the Minnesota Baseball Association. The players consist of former and current high school and college players. All (with an occasional exception)of the players went to school in Menahga, as Midway does not have a school.

The Snurdbirds have a rich winning tradition that starts with family. Midway was on top of the Lake and Pine in the eighties and nineties, and continues to be one of the most successful teams in the league. Many of the players on the current team had fathers, uncles, grandparents, and cousins that played for the Birds in previous years.

The Birds returned to the state tournament for the first time since '95 last year and hope to make another solid run in '06.

Mike Baso was named the Region 16C tournament MVP after collecting 13 hits in 22 at bats, scoring 4 runs, and driving in 8 runs.

Congratulations Mike and keep up the good work!!

We will play the Moorhead Miners at 10:00 am on Saturday 6/3 at Matt's field.
Then we will play at 5:00 at Krueger vs. Mound
Their is a guaranteed 3 game and possibly 4th if in the championship

I want to send a big thank you to a number of people that helped make Midway's season one to remember.

First of all, to all of the players that showed how much they love to play baseball, especially for Midway. The whole team showed that we are a family and will stick together through many things. This was the best summer of baseball in many ways for me. To look around and see the guys on the field and know that we all grew up chasing foul balls, being batboys, and playing out at Midway after the game makes me proud to be the leader of this group.

To all of you still playing in college ball, give it your best shot because once you are done you are done. Believe me, it goes by way too fast. To us old-timers that are done, keep up the love for the game and each other that makes this game and team so great.

Secondly, all the fan support that we had this year was absolutely amazing! We definately appreciated all of the loyalty from our fans. I know it is not always easy to make it to the games, but our die hards were there all the time. A special thank you to the Burkman girls for their help in Regions and State. You know we all got that chill running down our spines to hear those familiar cheers again!

The Midway Snurdbirds are all about one big family, related by blood or not. It's more than just baseball, when you put that uniform on you are being part of a team that goes back generations. I think everyone would be proud of us this year!

I always want to extend a HUGE thank you to Barb and Terry Burkman for running the concession stand and other finances. This is a thankless job and we are lucky to have you.

Lastly, all the pictures on the website are courtesy of Kerri Sagedahl, she was kind enough to take some photos and send them to me via e-mail all year. What a great Snurdbird fan.

Remember to check the website every once in a while for an update on things or to leave a message on the message board or guestbook. Keep in touch!

The Golf Tournament is set for Sunday, September 25. Hope to see you all there!

In probably the best baseball game I have ever been a part of the Snurdbirds fell to the Milroy Yankees 2-1 in 14 innings. Jake Lund gave a gutsy 11 inning performance but the Birds failed to cash in on numerous occasions. The game featured no errors by either team.

Midway had 7 hits to Milroy's 6, but the Yankees used a 1-out triple and a single to win the game.

The Snurdbirds end the season with a 24-10 record and made it back to the state tournament for the first time since '95. By the looks of the roster it doesn't look like the Birds are going away anytime soon. This bunch of players is hungry to win and showed great things this year, Midway is only going to get better.

For those that haven't noticed on the Schedule we are involved in 3 tournaments this year.

The first one is a mini 4 team event at Maple Lake. We are matched up with Holdingford ('05 class C state champ. Here is the schedule

Saturday May 13th
12:00: M.L. vs. S.M.
2:30: Midway vs. Holdingford
5:00: losers vs. losers
7:30: championship

We are also in the Perham tournament June 1-4 and the St. Cloud Tournament June 9-11. Perham has yet to announce the pools but in St. Cloud we will play the Norwood Cardinals on Friday night and the Moorhead Brewers on Saturday afternoon.

If anyone wants to order the state team picture you can get the information from the D-C Saints website. www.dcsaints.com

As you can see, there is a strong tradition of Midway ballplayers and their relatives playing for the Birds. Most of us grew up watching Dads and uncles play while we chased foul balls or retrieved bats. After the games they had to drag us away from our post-game games as dusk started to set on Matt Leritz Stadium (or wherever they played that day).

Current Players that have family connections to Midway Baseball.

In all, 16 players had their dad play with Midway:
George Baso (Ed)
Mike and Chris Baso (George)
Andy Baso (John)
James and Jeff Burkman (Terry)
Dustin Burkman (Harv)
Jamo Burkman (Brian)
Peyton Burkman (Stan)
Derek, Brett, and Kyle Dormanen (Charlie)
Zach Etter (Dave)
Jake Lund (Albert)
Pete and Jeff Marjamaa (Ike).

4 more had other relatives:
Ben Davis: (Terry Burkman, uncle)
Brad Lusti: (Brian, Harv, Randy Burkman, uncles)
Travis Lusti: (Willie Sakinnen-Grandpa, Harv Burkman, uncle)
Drew Rasmussen: (Derek-brother)

That leaves only a few that have no family connection (that we know about at this time). They can start their own tradition. There are way more connections with cousins that would take too long to list.

We hope the family business continues to thrive in 2007!

Midway lost to Wolf Lake 9-7 in Saturday's matchup with arch rival Wolf Lake.

WP: Corey Pudas
LP: James Burkman

The Birds bounced back to beat Frazee at home on Sunday for an 11-9 win.

WP: George Baso
LP: Moen

**complete game recaps can be found in game results**

More T-shirts have been ordered.

If anyone is interested in ordering any Snurdbird clothing let me know. I am not sure when the order will go out but I am hoping before Christmas. Have your money in to either myself or George or you will not be receiving your order.

Prices are still estimated, I will get you an exact number when things get ironed out.


Jackets: $75-$85
Hooded sweatshirts with embroidery (same design as T) $45-$50
Sweatpants (with logo): $25
winter caps (beanie or regular knit with the flap): $10-$15
*a number will be $5 extra, not sure of availability on all garments, but jackets for sure. I'm sure a name could go on a sleeve too.
again, the more we order the better price

If you have any questions call or email me and I can get the proper information.