Staying the course
Volunteers feel good heading into Section 8 tournamentThe Dickinson Volunteers American Legion baseball team hit a few bumps in the road, but has managed to stay the course.
By: Chris Aarhus, The Dickinson Press
- Sean Kelly
- Jerad Jacobsen
The Dickinson Volunteers American Legion baseball team hit a few bumps in the road, but has managed to stay the course.
After putting themselves in contention for a Section 8 regular-season title at the end of June, the Vols went 6-6 in July and finished fourth.
“We dropped a few games, but we weathered a tough schedule in July and I think we’re back on track,” Dickinson coach Carter Fong said.
Dickinson dropped the first game of a doubleheader in Hazen on Thursday, but valiantly fought back and earned a split in the nightcap. A sweep of Bowman County on Friday gave the Vols a three-game winning streak to end the regular season.
“The turning point was the second game in Hazen. Several bounces didn’t go our way in that game and somehow we found a way to come from behind and win it in the seventh to earn the split,” Fong said. “The guys played with a lot of intensity and emotion in that game, and they understand that we need to see more of that. When you combine that win with the sweep of Bowman, we won our last three and ended the regular season on a good note.”
The Volunteers and the rest of Section 8 start their new season when the section tournament kicks off today at Mandan Memorial Ballpark. Third-seeded Washburn and No. 6 Hazen get the action started at 11 a.m. Central Time. Beulah (No. 2) and Bowman County (No. 7) follow at 1:30 p.m. with Dickinson (No. 4) and Hettinger (No. 5) scheduled to play at 4 p.m. Top-seeded host Mandan plays Dunn County, the eighth seed, in the late game, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Dickinson and Hettinger could very well see the other team’s ace. Hettinger’s Jerad Jacobsen and Dickinson’s Sean Kelly (5-0) could face off for the second time after Kelly was the beneficiary in a 9-4 win on July 7. Both pitchers pitched in a doubleheader in early June and they both picked up wins in the split. Fong said beating Hettinger will take the Vols’ best effort.
“Hettinger is the dark horse,” Fong said. “They have a bunch of 18-year-old veterans who are great athletes with big-game experience. They have been coming on strong in July. It will take our best to win.”
After Kelly, Dickinson has the services of Scott Gordon, Kevin Theurer, Korey Kallenbach and Grant Dvorak. Statistically, Braxton MacKenzie has been just as good if not better, compiling a 3-1 record with a team-best 2.66 earned-run average. He’s also third on the team in innings pitched at 26Zc.
“The strength of our pitching staff is in our depth,” Fong said. “We have nine pitchers who have thrown at least 17 innings this year. If we can work our way deep into the tournament, we may still have some fresh arms when other teams are running out.”
At the plate, the Vols are led by Jordan Tescher, who is batting an even .500. Grant Dvorak, Brett Braunagel and Scott Gordon are all hitting over .400. Braunagel, Dvorak, Tescher and Tevin Papineau are all tied with four home runs.
“We can score in bunches, but we have to throw strikes and make plays behind our pitchers,” Fong said.
Another team that can score in a hurry is Hettinger, which boasts power up and down its lineup.
“My No. 7 and No. 9 hitters lead us in home runs with three a piece,” Hettinger coach Joe Perkins said.
The Bears get a boost with the return of slugger Zach Morast, who was playing in the Shrine Bowl all-star football game in Grand Forks and took a family vacation. With him gone, Hettinger managed to take two from top-seeded Mandan (24-4).
“We have some good ballplayers,” Perkins said. “We’ve played well at times, but we’ve lost to teams we shouldn’t have lost to. If we get hot, people are in trouble. If people count us out, they’re pretty foolish.”
Mandan coach Jake Kincaid knows not to count out Hettinger, which is the only team in the section not to have been swept by the A’s at least once.
“I wouldn’t sleep on them,” Kincaid said. “They’ve got just as good as shot as anybody to win it.”
Mandan arguably enters the tournament as the favorite, considering the A’s locked up the section title rather early and get to play in the postseason at their home ballpark.
“I’d like to hope that our best baseball is ahead of us,” Kincaid said. “If we want any chance of going far, it’s going to come down to defense.”
Fong said he’d call Mandan the favorite.
“Given the depth of our section, Mandan’s 24-4 record this year is pretty impressive,” Fong said. “They’re the No. 1 seed and the tournament is in their ballpark. They’ve earned the right to be called the favorite.”
Fong made note of how dangerous the top six teams were and even mentioned the fact that Bowman County and Dunn County have played well at times.
“This is the deepest that the section has been in my five years,” Fong said. “The gap between the top six teams is so small, and the new programs (Bowman and Dunn County) have given many of the top teams a scare.”
Class B, Section 8 tournament
At Mandan Memorial Ballpark
Games Wednesday (All times Central)
4) No. 3 Washburn vs. No. 6 Hazen, 11 a.m.
2) No. 2 Beulah vs. No. 7 Bowman County, 1:30 p.m.
3) No. 4 Dickinson vs. No. 5 Hettinger, 4 p.m.
1) No. 1 Mandan vs. No. 8 Dunn County, 6:30 p.m.
Tags: legion baseball, sports, baseball, volunteers
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