And they're off: Renegades enjoy

solid start in inaugural campaign

June 15, 2017

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --- Steve Dullard had the look of a proud papa June 2.

His baby was born. This was not a bouncing, 9-pound baby boy, however, this was nine nearly grown men playing a game of baseball at Vivion Field.

Say hello, world, to the Jefferson City Renegades.

Certainly, these guys weren't newborn-cute and they're not much fun to cuddle, either. Still, what a sight to behold for Dullard --- after an incubation period of closer to 36 months, not nine.

There was happiness and there was pride, of course. But mostly for Dullard ...

"It was actually a big relief, we finally made it," said Dullard, 32, president of the Renegades, who started this dream about three years ago. "We did it, it's here.

"There were a lot of emotions, actually.  I was very proud to see the turnout (estimated at over 1,000 fans) and to see them into the game and cheering like they did. A lot of the guys in the field said they'd never played in front of such a large crowd. And that we won, that was the best part about it. That capped off the night."

The debut for the franchise actually came two days earlier in Sedalia, but it was the home debut for the Renegades that was even more special.

This was Dullard's dream.

"Just getting through the night was a whirlwind, my head was spinning" Dullard said. "So much is going on and we were just trying to get everybody into a routine of how to operate a game, and try to figure out what works best.

"You don't just throw nine guys vs. nine guys on the field, there's a lot more that goes into it. It takes a lot of good people to make it a quality product."

The Renegades are part of the eight-team MINK league, a league that dates back more than a century to 1910. The league got its name because of the states involved --- Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas --- although this year, it's actually the MI league --- seven teams from Missouri, one from Iowa.

To be eligible, players (who are not paid) must currently be an NCAA or NAIA athlete. So we're dealing with college baseball players, guys who know how to play the game, not a bunch of guys simply playing in a summer league for exercise.

"It's a very good quality of baseball." Dullard said. "There are definitely a lot of great hitters, guys who want to keep honing their craft over the summer. The biggest thing has been pitching ... we thought we had enough. But after recruiting them in the winter, then they pitched  their college season and they'd say: 'My arm's not feeling, I can't pitch this summer.' Or, 'My coach doesn't want me to pitch.'

"We realize now that we should have recruited twice as many pitchers."

Thus, the Renegades have already played games that ended 13-12 and 17-16. Still, the organization, from top to bottom, is seems to be taking pride in what they're doing.

"These are good young men," Dullard said. "They wanted to come back and play in Central Missouri and be part of something special. They have so much pride in their local community, that was a pleasant surprise."

One of those is the Gatorade Missouri High School Player of the Year, Grant Wood. Wood, a recent graduate of Jefferson City High School, helped the Jays win the program's first state baseball championship in 28 years less than two weeks ago.

"It's finally settled in," Wood said with a smile. "But it's still a great feeling, knowing we're state champions."

That championship run diverted much of the attention, unfortunately, from the Renegades' opening homestand. After taking a week off to heal some bumps and bruises and "work on his tan," Wood joined the team earlier this week.

He's finding this is definitely a step up in competition. Players are bigger, stronger, faster ... they're smarter, throw harder and hit it farther. The days of facing a 15 year-old who couldn't hit it over the fence from second base are over.

"Fastballs are definitely harder, curve balls have more break, ground balls are hit harder at you." said Wood, a shortstop/pitcher for the Jays who played second base for the Renegades in his own season debut Monday night"The game's a lot faster, I just have to make that adjustment."

Said Dullard: "You can definitely tell, because you really finish maturing as a young man the first couple years of college. You can tell they've all had the chance to hit the weight rooms, hard, and had the chance to bulk up."

This should serve as a good bridge in the career of Wood, who will play baseball at Division I Murray State next season.

"This will give me a head start on playing college baseball," he said. "A lot of these guys are JUCO players, D-II players, so I should fit in right now and hopefully get better and better."

The Jays were senior-dominated team, and Wood had played with most of those guys since he was in grade school. Now, he's been thrown into a completely different situation.

"I don't really know any of them, so it's tough," he said. "But these guys are all good dudes. They've introduced themselves and made me feel at home, so I'm pretty comfortable, already."

The Renegades are being pieced together by head coach Mike Dimilia, a veteran coach of more than 20 years that includes stops as an assistant coach at Truman State and head coach at Lincoln. They're off to a solid 7-5 start, but have lost two straight heading into a four-game weekend home stand starting with the Nevada Griffons at 7 p.m. Thursday.

"On the field," Dullard said, "they're doing the job and looking pretty good. Off the field, we starting to figure out the basic operations of it and we're also starting to figure out what works for (in-game) entertainment and what doesn't."

Like a bounce house the next three Friday night home games, starting this Friday. The bounce house, of course, is for kids. But Dullard is also considering activities like tricycle races between innings --- for adults.

"We're trying to experiment with different things," he said. "It's not just about baseball, it's about going out and socializing and having a fun time at the ballpark. It's a work in progress, but we're headed in the right direction."

Admission is only $7, less than the cost of a movie ticket --- and movies have a pre-ordained ending. At the ballpark, after all, you never know what you might see.

The concession stands are affordable (including beer) and they're run by the Parks and Recreation. Parking is free and besides the between-innings entertainment, you'll also enjoy the professional-level PA stylings of Shawn Cockrum on the mike.

"If you're looking for great entertainment at a great price --- not just entertaining baseball --- this is it," Dullard said.  "We don't have a huge advertising budget, but we hope word gets out and we can get a decent following.

"We just want to get the team operating, then we can start working on making it better and better for the coming years. We want to make it more comfortable and more fun for fans to come to the games."

Notice he said coming years, so he believes the Renegades won't be a one-hit wonder.

"You don't want to run this for a couple years and then fold, that's no good," Dullard said. "We want to make sure it's a sustainable thing. For me, nothing's worth my time and effort if it's not going to last."

In other words, we'll get to watch the baby grow up.

Loeffler's Link

For questions, comments or story ideas, contact Tom at loefflerslink@hotmail.com.

The Jefferson City Renegades' Adam Grunden, a graduate of Jefferson City High School, fires a pitch during Monday night's game with Nevada at Vivion Field. While the Renegades dropped a 4-2 decision, Grunden was sharp --- he went the first six innings and allowed no runs on two hits, he struck out six and walked none.

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