Rapid City Rebels pitcher Mallory Chavez (left) attempts to tag out a Billings Bulldog at home plate during ASA action at the Scheels Rushmore Classic. The Rebels fell to the Bulldogs 7-1. (Kevin Cox/IDS)

When the girls for the Rapid City Rebels look back on their softball careers, it could be tough to recall most of their tournaments. The games in South Dakota and neighboring states will probably meld into one blurry memory. As the years pass by, most will try to remember some of their biggest moments and forget their lowest lows.

Their second game in the Scheels Rushmore Classic certainly falls into the latter. Behind some stingy pitching, the Billings Bulldogs easily bested the Rebels 7-1.

It was, in Brenna Russ’ opinion, one of those lackluster games.

“She was a good pitcher, and we didn’t really have the enthusiasm we had this morning,” Russ said.

But one memory from their youth softball days that will not dissipate easily will be what this U-16 team will embark on in less than a month.

The Rebels earned a spot in the coveted Triple Crown Fastpitch National Tournament in Park City, Utah. To qualify for the week-long event, beginning on July 18 for U-16, the Rebels had to travel to Colorado for a couple of tournaments early in the spring.

There are a couple of ways to make it to Park City. One, you can finish in the top four at one of these qualifying tournaments.

The second way is if you score a certain amount of runs against a team that goes on to win a qualifying tournament.

The Rebels covered both of their bases in their first two tournaments.

“You have to go to a qualifier, and a lot of them are in Colorado,” Rebel head coach Amy Torgerson said. “We qualified in our first tournament in Loveland. The team that beat us in that tournament won the tournament, and we scored so many runs against them. And we did actually qualify in our second tournament. We lost in the championship game, so either way we were in.”

(Photos Kevin Cox/IDS)

While the competition this weekend is high for the area, Torgerson and her team know that it will be ramped up quite a few notches in Utah.

Teams from all over the country will be there and it won’t be filled with any patsies.

“Nationals are huge,” Torgerson said. “You see the best of the best. It’s an amazing opportunity just to go out and experience it. You see the big pitching, you see the amazing hitting, you see the throwing and the defense behind you. It’s a huge learning experience.”

Torgerson said the decision to actually make the trip to Utah was a no-brainer.

“Any opportunity that a team gets to go, you just gotta go. That’s just how it is. It’ll carry these girls, it will put them a step above. They all know it’ll be California, Arizona, all those teams.”

They know because two of the Rebels, Megan Green and Jordan Myers, went last year.

“The goal is definitely getting that experience to play higher level teams, so that we can improve ourselves for when we come back,” Green said.

The 15-year-old said the Billings pitcher they faced on Saturday gave a good tune-up for what they will see on the mound next month.

“Especially with the pitcher today, we definitely had to expect a strike,” Green said. “And if you see it coming you just have to go for it, because the girls in Utah are pretty amazing.”

Getting a college scholarship for athletics usually requires exposure, exposure, and more exposure in some order. Russ is looking forward to getting a chance to have coaches from around the country watch her and her teammates.

“I’m excited about because it gives all of us an advantage to have college coaches look at us and gives us a better advantage of getting into college with a scholarship,” she said.

Of course it will be no easy task looking good against some of the nation’s best softball programs. That isn’t going to deter the Rebels, who aren’t going there to get beaten up on.

“(The competition) will be pretty stiff,” Russ said. “As long as we get our defense and our hitting going we’ll be good. Hopefully we can work our way up and win a championship.”

Green said there is no nervousness or doubts in the team’s collective mindset. Far from it. These girls are just excited to get a chance to play some of the nation’s best.

“Everyone is very excited. To go and play teams from Texas or California was incredible. It was out of this world.”