Over the weekend, the Sam McQuade Sr. Charity Softball Tournament took place in Bismarck. The event, however, is not limited to local teams, as participants come from all over the U.S. to take part in one of the largest nonprofit slow pitch softball tournaments in the country.

Dating back to 1976, the tournament was founded by Sam McQuade Sr. with the goal of getting the community together to help local charities and organizations that were facing difficult financial times.

In the inaugural tournament, McQuade was able to get 103 teams to participate and the event has grown exponentially ever since. Fast forward to last year, where there were 418 teams in the tournament, the ninth consecutive year with 400+ teams.

Since its founding and through 2021, the tournament has raised over $1.6 million that has gone on to help different charities. With so many teams partaking in an exciting tournament like this, a total of over 1,000 volunteers have signed up to help orchestrate the event throughout its existence.

This year, Team Aftermath, a local Minot team entered in the men’s slow pitch D bracket and finished in first place as they put together a perfect 6-0 record during tournament play.

Aftermath matched up with Fargo Slammer in their first game on Friday, where Aftermath got the best of Fargo Slammer in a 23-18 affair. This was not only the first game Aftermath played, but it was also their closest game throughout the entire tournament.

Moving forward, Aftermath would utilize offensive firepower that helped them cruise through most of their remaining games. On Saturday, they were in action again as they beat Bismarck Inge’s Pub 20-5.

With the win on Saturday morning, Aftermath would play later that afternoon. This time, they faced Mandan Rio Lawn & Landscape with Aftermath winning by the same score of 20-5.

Primed and ready to keep pushing through the winner’s bracket, Team Aftermath would endure their toughest stretch of the tournament by playing a tripleheader on Sunday.

Aftermath would go on to continue their streak of scoring 20+ runs in each game, as they topped Bismarck Tap-In Tavern 21-10, Bismarck UNO 22-16, and Bismarck UNO once again by a score of 25-15 to secure first place in the tournament.

The strong showing by Team Aftermath resulted in not only a perfect weekend, but also them outscoring their opponents 131-69. Their on-field performance was impressive, but so was their willingness to be part of a great cause.