Peyton Render honored with the return of All Day Baseball

STURGIS — Saturday was an emotional day for a couple of reasons at Spence Field in Sturgis.

All Day Baseball made its return to the diamonds, moving over to the new Spence Field complex across town. It was the first time the event was played in seven years, bringing back plenty of participants from its past.

It was also dubbed "Playing for Peyton" in honor of Peyton Render, who passed away at the age of nine due to a rare form of brain cancer. Peyton loved playing all sports, but especially baseball and he was a member of the Junior Trojan baseball team. It only made sense to honor him with the return of All Day Baseball.

"It was a very special day, just seeing the amount of people who came out and supported us was awesome," Cody Render, Peyton's father said following the final game on Saturday. "Obviously the last few months have been difficult for us as a family, we're still getting used to a new normal of life."

All Day Baseball started in Sturgis by the Wood brothers — Joe and Tyler — plenty of years ago. It ran from 2003-2017 and came to a halt like many things do in the world. Because of the time off, Sturgis varsity baseball coach Drew Rutenbar said the group was a bit concerned.

"We were a little nervous about the turnout, but we couldn't have asked for better weather and there were a lot of people here, including tons of kids," he said. "It was awesome to see. We had almost 40 alumni come up and play in the night game as well and I coached a lot of those guys, so it was an overall great day for us."

Several games of baseball took place throughout the day, including a Generations Classic and even a home run derby. The final game of the night, the alumni contest, pitted the Render brothers against each other as team captains. Conner's team won the game, 23-14.

"Losing to your younger brother always sucks, it doesn't matter what it's about," Cody said. "But it was a great time, out here playing the game all day. We don't get to do this very often."

Render's daughter Quinn even had the chance to throw out a ceremonial first pitch to her uncle Conner at one point during the day.

"That was a special moment, it was so nice she was able to throw it to Uncle Conner," Cody said. "We wanted her to be a part of this. It was really special she was able to be involved."

Both Wood brothers were also able to make it back to Sturgis for the event.

"I absolutely love seeing baseball being played, for me to have a chance to pitch to a bunch of 6-12 year olds playing baseball, it was great," Joe said. "It was nice to show them how fun sandlot baseball can be. It meant a lot to me to be able to relive my childhood a little bit."

Both the brothers had their families in attendance as well as the next generation of baseball lovers had the opportunity to take in All Day Baseball.

"It meant everything to come here today," Tyler said. "Baseball is alive and well here in Sturgis. It was great to see a bunch of different families I hadn't seen in years."

Rutenbar, Chance Stewart and the Render brothers — Cody and Conner — spearheaded the return for All Day Baseball. The annual tradition has made its return and the four each said they plan to continue it moving forward on a yearly basis.

Sponsors for this year's event included Advanced Farm Supply, Sportsarama, Central Meat Market and Bone Heads BBQ plus all the donations taken throughout the day on site.

Donations can be made to the Playing for Peyton Memorial Fund through the Sturgis Area Community Foundation, which raises money to donate to local sports and outdoors groups.

Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BwatsonSJ.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Peyton Render honored with the return of All Day Baseball