Tescher leads group of semester transfers for DSU baseball

Talk about it

Jordan Tescher just wanted a chance to play.

A real chance.

It’s why the Beach High School graduate decided to transfer from Jamestown College to Dickinson State.

“I won’t be handed anything, of course, which I’m looking forward to,” Tescher said. “I’ve still got to earn it anywhere I go.”

Tescher was a standout third baseman for the Dickinson High School and Dickinson Roughriders American Legion baseball teams before deciding to play for the Jimmies after high school.

It was a decision he doesn’t regret, though he said Jamestown’s program, which includes a junior varsity team, made it a challenge for underclassmen to see playing time.

“I won’t say anything bad about there. I got better there. I learned more there than I thought I would,” Tescher said. “It was a different place I went there and there was a lot of people in my shoes, who I don’t know if you want to say were given false hope. … There was 72 of us walking in last fall looking for nine spots on the field. It’s competitive, which is what you need in a program. But it’s something that some of us don’t like to be in.”

DSU head baseball coach Jason Watson said Tescher will be one of the players competing for the starting third baseman spot. The team is beginning its preseason workouts and drills as it prepares for a four-game series against Dakota Wesleyan on Feb. 22 and 23 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

“He’s a pretty put-together guy,” Watson said. “He loves being in the weight room. I’ve seen him for a week now and every day, before lifting, he comes and gets the keys to go hit. As a coach you like to see that, somebody who is very dedicated on his strength side. He works hard when we do our conditioning stuff. His drive is there. I’m excited to see the baseball side of it. I really haven’t seen him swing too much and throw.”

Tescher, who will be a sophomore, is one of a handful of semester transfers who could see playing time for the Blue Hawks this season.

Sophomore second baseman Alex Williams, junior infielder Joe Binstock, junior pitcher Joey Hendricks and senior outfielder Chris Antoku have also been added to the roster.

Hendricks pitched for Williston State College last year and Dawson Community College in Glendive, Mont., as a freshman. He played for the Casper (Wyo.) Cutthroats summer league team coached by Watson.

The second-year coach said the recruits gives DSU some solid depth coming into the spring.

“I told the guys, I’m not going to tell them who’s starting until I make up the lineup when we go to Minneapolis,” Watson said.

Taylor Kraenzel, a multi-tool right-hander who can pitch and play both infield and outfield positions, is another semester transfer. The 2012 Dickinson High School graduate went to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix his first semester.

However, he said Tuesday he plans to redshirt this season after injuring his back in a snowboarding accident over Christmas break.

He’ll join Tescher and left-handed pitcher Eric Seiler, a 21-year-old freshman, as former Midget and Roughrider players on DSU’s roster this season.

Watson said Casey Ryan, a Minot High School graduate and third baseman, is another mid-year transfer will also likely redshirt.

The Blue Hawks already have a start on next season’s recruiting as well. Watson signed catcher Seth Flynn, who is from Cartwright, N.D., but attends school at Fairview (Mont.) High School.

Blue Hawks

prepare for trip to

No. 5 Westminster

The DSU women’s basketball team has had its struggles this season.

The Blue Hawks’ are 5-13 with just one win against an American team, are the lone winless team in the Frontier Conference at 0-5, even though statistically they often rank as one of the better teams.

Now, after one of the best performances of the season — a closely played 66-58 loss to Carroll College last Saturday at Scott Gymnasium — DSU hits the road to Salt Lake City for its first-ever meeting with Frontier opponent Westminster College, the No. 5-ranked team in NAIA Division I, at 5:30 p.m. today.

“They’re tough to get ready for,” DSU head coach Caleb Harrison said. “Their offense is pretty intricate and they do it well. We’ve got to focus on ourselves.”

The Griffins are 16-2 and 5-0 in the Frontier. They’ve won eight straight and are led by 6-foot-1 senior forward Cydney Tibbits, who averages 13.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She started her career at the University of Utah.

“They’re really versatile,” Harrison said. “They’ve got guards that can post up and they’ve got post players that can step out. You’ve got to be ready to defend everything against them.”

The Blue Hawks leave Utah on Friday to travel four hours north to Dillon, Mont., for a Saturday afternoon game against Montana Western (10-9, 2-3 Frontier).

The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back wins over Montana State-Northern and Great Falls (Mont.) after dropping their four previous games.

Senior Sammi Bignell, the Frontier Conference player of the week, leads Western with a league-leading 17 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

Harrison said he feels good about the Blue Hawks’ chances of getting in the win column this weekend, whether it’s an upset against Westminster or a win at Western.

“I think if we go down there and play our best, we can definitely win,” he said. “We’ve got a favorable schedule going into February. We just need to be ready. If we’re ready to go, I think we’ve got as good of a chance as anybody to pull out some wins.”

Boos steadily

finding his way

back from injury

Though he was feeling the effects of illness Tuesday, Brock Boos said he is getting better and better every day.

Any illness is nothing compared the nearly 10 months the DSU junior men’s basketball player spent on the mend after suffering ACL, MCL and meniscus tears in his left knee on Dec. 29, 2011 in a game against Rocky Mountain College.

“It gets stronger every day,” said Boos, a Bowman County High School graduate. “You have good days, you have bad days. You’ve just got to keep your head up and keep pushing through.”

Boos didn’t return to practice until the start of DSU’s season and played sparingly until Nov. 23 game against Mayville State in the Sam Milanovich Classic. He scored eight points that night, but followed it with five straight scoreless outings.

In December, however, he turned a corner. He’s shooting 43 percent from 3-point range — he has 19 treys and averages 3.7 points per game — and, head coach Ty Orton said, is doing his job of providing the team a spark shooter off the bench. In DSU’s last 11 games, Boos is averaging 5.4 points per game.

“It took quite a long time to get it actually strong again,” Boos said. “I didn’t actually feel good playing until a couple weeks before Christmas break.”

This weekend, the Blue Hawks (9-10, 2-2 Frontier) visit No. 19-ranked Westminster College (14-4, 2-3 Frontier) at 7:30 p.m. today in Salt Lake City and travel to Montana Western (12-6, 2-3 Frontier) in Dillon, Mont., for a 4 p.m. Saturday tipoff.

Boos said he’s hoping his knee continues to get stronger as the season goes on as he continues to build toward his senior year.

“It was definitely not the way I had planned, starting college,” Boos said. “But it’s always nice to get back on the floor and I’ve still got another year, next year, to play and hopefully it keeps working out.”

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