Wagner residents, Hunter Hewitt and Grant Doom took their amateur league baseball skills and joined the Platte Killer Tomatoes team for their 2024 summer season. The Platte Killer Tomatoes team ended their season with a 14-8 win-loss record and finished second place at the South Dakota State B Amateur Baseball Tournament. Both Hunter and Grant had previously played for the Wagner Rockets until the team disbanded in 2020. Doom is the pitcher for the Killer Tomatoes and Hewitt is the team’s catcher.

Hunter has been playing baseball since he was five years old when he joined tee ball and has not quit playing the sport ever since. When asked what he enjoys about playing baseball, Hunter said the game itself. Baseball is a complex sport that has many small details inside of the game that one has to know in order to be successful as both a player and a team. More than anything, Hunter enjoys the team aspect and building relationships in playing baseball. One of the most challenging parts of baseball according to Hunter is hitting the ball. Baseball is the only game in the world where being successful three out of ten pitches is considered very good. He has been a part of the Killer Tomatoes for five seasons. Hunter has been a catcher his entire baseball career and he feels that he learns more about calling pitches every season. Hunter knows that having a connection with his pitcher is instrumental to the game. He always tries to do his best to put his pitchers in the position to be successful.

Grant has been playing baseball since he could walk and started playing with a team when he was eight years old. Between the ages of eight and fourteen, he played in tournaments almost every weekend from March through September. Grant has a long history of playing baseball including high school, spring ball league, college ball at both Northwestern College in Orange City, IA and Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, TN, then playing for the Wagner Rockets, and now for the Platte Killer Tomatoes. Grant just finished his fourth season with the Platte Killer Tomatoes. His love of baseball stems from his competitive drive. He enjoys nothing more than getting to compete. Even though he is very competitive, Grant seems to plan his “retirement” from baseball after each season, but ultimately when spring rolls around he gets an itch and the only way to stop it, is to step onto the pitcher’s mound. What Grant really enjoys about playing the game is that the outcome of a baseball game is decided by who fails the least, which leaves a lot of room for improvement and growth. In Grant’s opinion, the hardest part of the game is the mentality. The statistics for baseball are very different when it comes to being seen as successful and for some players that concept is hard for them to wrap their heads around. Grant says that the key to overcoming it is to have the mentality of failing better.

When asked what made them both want to join the Platte Killer Tomatoes team they said that they both wanted to continue playing even though Wagner no longer had a team. Hunter received a call from Michael Buitenbos of Platte asking Hunter if he would want to play for the Killer Tomatoes. Hunter said yes and brought Grant with him. It ended up being a great fit for both Hunter and Grant. They rounded out the Killer Tomatoes team. Both men are grateful for the opportunity. Both Hunter and Grant plan to continue playing next season for the Killer Tomatoes.

This season was a historical one for the Platte team. Earning second place at the state tournament was the furthest a Killer Tomato team had ever made it at the state tournament. Being defeated in the championship game stung a bit and left some of the players a bit salty, but it just motivates the team for next season. The team is hungry to make another run at a State Championship title next season.

Hunter and Grant have played together since 2019 when they both played for the Wagner Rockets. When asked if there was a special bond between a pitcher and a catcher, both Hunter and Grant said yes. It is the catcher’s job to learn everything about his pitcher. In this case, Hunter needs to know Grant’s strengths, weaknesses, where he misses, what he likes to throw, and what he doesn't when he is on the mound. Hunter has to use all the information that he knows about Grant in order to call pitches to get each batter out. As the pitcher, Grant has to trust Hunter’s decision on every pitch he calls. Hunter feels that it is his job as a catcher to keep his pitcher calm and composed. The pitcher and catcher have to have mutual trust in each other to be successful.