Starting young

• Jack Hanstad

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Jack Hanstad, a member of the Dickinson Mustangs 11-year-old baseball team, takes infield practice Tuesday evening. His team is headed to Kansas for the Cal Ripken Midwest Plains Regional, while the Mustangs’ 10-year-old team heads to Missouri for the Midwest Plains Regional.

Talk about it

Coaches for Dickinson’s 11-year-old baseball team set Tuesday night’s practice for 7 p.m.

Almost every player showed up a half-hour early.

This was no scheduling mix up either. That’s just the how the team operates, coaches say.

“They’re doing it all on their own. It’s not something we make them do,” said Dave Ouellette, who coaches the team along with Brad Hanstad and Jason Hopfauf. “And they don’t want to quit when practice is over.”

The team’s excitement is deserved.

For the first time in the 12-year history of the Dickinson Mustang Baseball program, two all-star teams of consecutive age levels are playing in their respective Cal Ripken Midwest Plains Regional Tournaments after winning North Dakota state championships.

The 10-year-olds open their tournament at 2 p.m. today against Lamar, Colo., in Boonville, Mo. The 11-year-olds open their tournament against a Colorado team in Lyons, Kan., on Friday afternoon.

“I feel pretty excited because we tried really hard to get to this spot,” said Chris Zubke, a third baseman and pitcher for the 10-year-old team.

It’s a big week for Dickinson youth baseball, one that showcases just how bright of a future the already strong sport may have in the city.

“I think we have a good future if we all keep in it and keep practicing,” said 11-year-old shortstop Tanner Ouellette. “We could be good.” Yet, any talk about the future doesn’t last long once the teams are on the diamond.

They’re too concerned about winning their upcoming tournaments — and they aren’t shy about making predictions either.

“We won state and now we get to show how good we are to the other states,” said Mike Herauf, an 11-year-old pitcher and first baseman. “We have a pretty good chance.”

Herauf knows a thing or two about winning.

He is the younger brother of former Dickinson baseball standout and current North Dakota State slugger Ben Herauf.

Mike Herauf plays on the same team as Shawn Steffan, the brother of Tyler Steffan, another former star for the Dickinson Roughriders American Legion team and Dickinson Midgets high school team.

Growing up around baseball and watching their brothers win state championships has resonated in the younger generation of ballplayers.

“They really taught us all the techniques,” Steffan said.

The mentoring has been put to good use on the field and in the way the young players conduct themselves.

While they’re confident they can win, there is also an oddly mature sense of humility throughout the teams of players who’ll be fifth- and sixth-graders in the fall.

“The teams we’re going to be playing in Missouri are going to be way harder than our usual ones,” Zubke said. “We’ve got to play harder.”

Herauf added: “It’s just an honor to go there.”

Tags: youth sports, sports, baseball