Class A Girls' State Soccer Tournament

May 29-31

At Bismarck

Thursday, May 29

Opening Round

Game 1: (West 1) Century (10-2-3) 3, (East 4) Red River (9-6-1) 0
Game 2: (East 2) Fargo North (11-4-2) 2, (West 3) Bismarck (5-7-3) 1 (OT)
Game 3: (East 3) Shanley (11-3-3) 2, (West 2) St. Mary's (10-2-3) 1, (SO)
Game 4: (East 1) Fargo South (15-0-2) 4, (West 4) Jamestown (7-7-3) 0

Friday, May 30

Consolation Semifinals

Game 5: (5-8-3) Bismarck 3, (9-7-1) Red River 1
Game 6: (10-3-3) St. Mary's 3, (7-8-3) Jamestown 2

Semifinals

Game 7: (12-4-2) Fargo North 1, (11-2-3) Century 0 (SO)
Game 8: (16-0-2) Fargo South 1, (12-3-3) Shanley 0

Saturday, May 31

Fifth Place

Game 9: (12-3-3) St. Mary's 3, (6-9-3) Bismarck 1

Third Place

Game 10: (12-3-3) Century 3, (12-5-3) Shanley 1

Championship

Game 11: (18-0-2) Fargo South 1, (13-5-2) Fargo North 0

Class A State Baseball Tournament

May 29-31

At Mandan

Thursday, May 29

Opening Round

Game 1: (West 1) Dickinson (26-8) 2, (East 4) Devils Lake (17-9) 0
Game 2: (West 3) Williston (20-12) 9, (East 2) Fargo Shanley (21-10) 0
Game 3: (East 1) Fargo South (22-5) 8, (West 4) Minot (22-9) 5
Game 4: (West 2) Century (26-7) 2, (East 3) Fargo North (20-12) 0

Friday, May 30

Consolation Semifinals

Game 5: (21-11) Fargo Shanley 4, (17-10) Devils Lake 3
Game 6: (22-10) Minot 7, (20-13) Fargo North 4

Semifinals

Game 7: (21-12) Williston 4, (27-8) Dickinson 0
Game 8: (23-5) Fargo South 3, (27-7) Century 2

Saturday, May 31

Seventh Place

Game 9: (21-14) Fargo North 3, (17-12) Devils Lake 1

Fifth Place

Game 10: (24-10) Minot 4, (22-12) Fargo Shanley 1

Third Place

Game 11: (29-9) Dickinson 2, (27-9) Century 1 (14 Innings)

Championship

Game 12: (22-12) Williston vs. (24-5) Fargo South

LaMoure's Michael Arndt Battling For Tackle Spot

The Forum's Jeff Kolpack put together a story taking a look at the starting situation for the NDSU football team.

On the offensive line, center Zach Harrington is back for his senior year and should help make the transition of a new quarterback that much easier. A lot of times that relationship between center and QB gets overlooked, but I can tell you from first-hand knowledge, if there isn't a good chemistry a play can fall apart before it ever begins.

Every center/QB exchange holds the potential for a fumble, and every time it is successful you never really notice. But that is what I always liked about offensive lineman. They just go out and do their job. Doing their job means they likely don't get recognized, and they are cool with that.

Michael Arndt, a product of LaMoure, is one of three being looked at for the tackle position. Arndt is a giant guy - he goes about 6-6 or 6-7 and when he was in high school was somewhere around 260 or 270. I would have to think the Bison lifting programs have added another 15-25 pounds of muscle to that frame. Needless to say, he would make for an imposing precense on the offensive line. I did a feature story on him when he was playing for the Loboes and really enjoyed his sense of humor. I'm pulling for him.

Anywho, to give Kolpack's story a read, click here.

MDN State Softball - Day 1

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of the weekend is the state girls' softball tournament up in Minot. With it not being an official high school sport just yet (that will change shortly, and rightfully so) it probably isn't getting the pub it should state-wide.

Still, it's a pretty big deal when you consider the amount of teams across the state and how many people get excited for the sport and tournament.

And so, if you want to give a look-see to the opening round of tournament play in the Magic City, click here.

Tribune's State Baseball, State Soccer - Day 1

The Trib has teams going every which way this weekend as they are being spread over three tournaments. Not an easy task, by any stretch, but it is part of the job and no one feels a whole lot of sympathy for newspapers when it comes to this kind of thing, they just want to see coverage on their kid/team/town/whatever.

All in all, these are the situations where I think newspaper staffs deserve a standing ovation. It takes a lot of people coordinating a lot of different aspects to pull together a sports page/section on a normal night and this is basically taking that to a whole new level.

So, to give the Trib's coverage of the state Class A baseball tournament, click here and here.

To read their coverage of the state girls' soccer tourney, click here and here.

Sun's Class B Baseball - Day 1

The Sun is covering the state Class B baseball tournament with one of their staff gone (insider knowledge), but the show must go on and they are doing a very admirable job, keeping track of the tourney in town and a team at the state soccer tournament.

To give their stories a read from the opening day of the state baseball tournament click here and here for the different sessions.

Class B State Baseball Tournament

May 29-31

At Jack Brown Stadium, Jamestown

Thursday, May 29

Opening Round

Game 1: (15-3) Dakota Prairie 9, (24-7) Grafton 1
Game 2: (13-4) Munich-Starkweather-Cando 13, (19-5) Velva-Drake 1 (6 Innings)

Game 3: (23-2) Minot Ryan 10, (15-6) Steele-Dawson 5

Game 4: (14-4) Central Valley-Hillsboro 9, (17-6) LaMoure-Litchville-Marion 8 (10 Innings)

Friday, May 30

Consolation Semifinals

Game 5: (24-8) Grafton 9, (19-6) Velva-Drake 1

Game 6: (15-7) Steele-Dawson 5, (17-7) LaMoure-Litchville-Marion 3

Semifinals

Game 7: (16-3) Dakota Prairie 3, (14-4) Munich-Starkweather-Cando 2

Game 8: (24-2) Minot Ryan 7, (15-4) Central Valley-Hillsboro 1

Saturday, May 31

Seventh Place

Game 9: (18-8) LaMoure-Litchville-Marion 3, (19-8) Velva-Drake 1

Fifth Place

Game 10: (26-8) Grafton 6, (16-8) Steele-Dawson 3

Third Place

Game 11: (15-5) Munich-Starkweather-Cando 9, (15-6) Central Valley-Hillsboro 3

Championship

Game 12: (26-2) Minot Ryan 10, (17-4) Dakota Prairie 3

Steele-Dawson's Hannah Rohrich

Good story coming out of the state Class B baseball tournament that has to do with the Pirates' Hannah Rohrich.

I think it is pretty cool how their coach Dave Silbernagel (who I think is one good guy) talked about her acceptance with the team and how she went through everything the rest of the team went through and it's pretty hard not to accept her because of that.

Anyway, I thought it was cool, so if you want to give it a read, click here.

State Softball Tournament

May 29-31

South Hill Complex, Minot

Thursday, May 29

Opening Round

Game 1: (8) Grand Forks Central 7, (9) Enderlin 6

Game 2: (6) Fargo South 7, (11) Bismarck 4

Game 3: (10) Devils Lake 3, (7) Grand Forks Red River 2

Game 4: (5) Minot Ryan 4, (4) Minot 3

Friday, May 30

Game 5: (1) Fargo North 11, Grand Forks Central 2

Game 6: (3) Fargo Shanley 6, Fargo South 3

Game 7: (2) West Fargo 5, Devils Lake 1

Game 8: Minot 4, Bismarck 3 (8 Innings)

Game 9: Grand Forks Central 11, Red River 1

Game 10: Fargo South 10, Enderlin 0

Game 11: Minot 7, Grand Forks Central 3

Game 12: Fargo South 10, Devils Lake 0

Game 13: Fargo North 5, Minot Ryan 4 (10 Innings)

Game 14: West Fargo 4, Shanley 1

Saturday, May 31

Game 15: Minot Ryan vs. Fargo South

Game 16: Shanley vs. Minot

Game 17: Fargo North vs. West Fargo

Game 18: Game 16 Winner vs. Game 15 Winner

Game 19: Game 17 Loser vs. Game 18 Winner

Game 20: Game 17 Winner vs. Game 19 Winner

Game 21: Game 20 Winner vs. Game 20 Loser (If Necessary)
Note: Special thanks to Steve for the updates!!

Class B Boys' Golf Meet - Day 2

Kerry Collins was put on task to handle the final round of the Class B boys' golf meet is the first team to stand on a podium that isn't Oak Grove since 2004.

The Bison fished with three in the top five individual scores, including the first- and second-place finishers.

To read it, click here.

DP Story on New Trinity AD

Chris Aarhus put together a story on Trinity High School getting a new activies director. Rick Gordon, who has been the long-time football coach for the Titans, will be taking over for Brad Foss, who is taking a job in Hazen.

To me it seems like a very natural choice. Gordon has been with the school and has seen the history with the programs. He knows the success, knows what goes into it and should be able to to enter the position with little problems.

It does appear as though Gordon is hanging it up as far as football goes, which does beg the question who will be coaching the Titans this fall, but really that is about the only question I can see popping up with this move.

To read the full story, click here.

Class A Baseball Capsules

The Bismarck Tribune's Steve Thomas put together capsules on the field of teams in the state Class A baseball tournament in Mandan this week.

You're getting the teams' record, some tournament history and some players to watch this weekend.

Click here to give it a read.

Tribune's State Girls' Soccer Capsules

Lou Babiarz compiled some capsules of all the teams playing in the state girls' soccer tourney this weekend.

It has records, players to watch, different notes on the teams, etc. - plenty of stuff to chew on for all you pitch fans out there.

To read it, click here.

Class B Baseball Team Capsules

If you need something to read in-between webcasts because of the rain, Scott Throlson at the Jamestown Sun compiled some capsules on all the teams competing in the Class B state baseball tournament.

The capsules give you some players to watch, some info to keep in mind during the tournament and some coach's comments.

Click here to give it a read.

The Bismarck Tribune also put together some capsules, compiled by Mike Weber.

Click here to give it a read.

Pronk Hoping For Return Friday

The Cleveland Indians' Travis Hafner has been out of the lineup for a couple of days, but it looks as though there is a chance he could return soon.

From a release on the Cleveland Indians' web site, Pronk got a cortisone shot on Tuesday that may help his shoulder inflammation. When asked about his return, Hafner hoped to be back on Friday.

The shoulder problems could go a long way towards explaining Pronk's production slippage so far this season.

After having MVP-type numbers in 2005 and 2006, Hafner's home run total dipped from 42 in 2006 to 24 in 2007.

So far in 2008 Hafner is hitting just .217 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. Now granted, he also has a stolen base (he has 7 total in his career), but I'm assuming most pitchers don't feel they need to keep Pronk too close to the bag. Normally Hafner starts the season like a fireball and the last two seasons he has had slower months of April and May.

With any luck Hafner, who turns 31 on June 3, can get his shoulder problems straightened out. He was an absolute game-changer when he was healthy and if the Indians want to have any shot at a postseason run, Pronk is going to have to be healthy.

Mike Weber's State Track Roundup

I didn't do too great of a job highlighting the Day 2 performances at the state track and field meet, but Mike Weber over at the Bismarck Tribune did, and I have no problem giving him some credit.

To check out his story, click here.

Weber highlights the three-event winners at the tournament and weighs in on Kristen Killoran's 'wind-aided' jumping mark, as well as Seth Wisthoff's new state standard in the discus. There are some other tasty little bits in there, also.

State Golf Meets - Day 1

At the state Class B boys' meet, Hazen is making a play to deny Oak Grove its fourth consecutive state title. The Bison put together a score of 308 on the opening day of the state golf tournament, led by Conor Borud's 73 while Chad Marshall finished with a 74.

The Grovers are sitting second in the team standings with their score of 313. Oak Grove is led by a pair of 77s fired by Cory Samson and Jeff Rustvang, while Michael VandeVoort is right behind with a 78.

For full first-day results of the Class B tournament, click here.

At the time of this posting, only the B boys' tournament results were listed on the NDHSAA page. Here is that link. I'm guessing results from the other tournament will be put on there at some point.

For a link to the Forum's Day 1 story from the B boys' meet, click here.

For a link to the Forum's Day 1 story from the B girls' meet, click here.

State Track Meet - Day 2

The state track meet is over, as Bismarck swept the Class A boys' and girls' meets while Bowman County was the Class B girls' winner and Hazen took the boys' title.

To look at the full meet scoring, click here.

To check out results in the individual events, click here.

2008 NAIA College World Series Tournament

May 23-30

At Harris Field, Lewiston (Idaho)

Friday, May 23

Game 1: (7) Spring Arbor (Mich.) 7, (10) Jamestown College (ND) 5
Game 2: (8) Bellevue (Neb.) 15, (9) Ohio Dominican 3
Game 3: (5) Union (Ky.) 9, (4) Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 8
Game 4: (3) Lewis-Clark State (Id.) 19, (6) Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 0

Saturday, May 24

Game 5: Azusa Pacific 9, Ohio Dominican 2
Game 6: Embry-Riddle 10, Jamestown College 5
Game 7: (2) Oklahoma City 10, Spring Arbor 2
Game 8: (1) Lee (Tenn.) 7, Bellevue 1

Monday, May 26

Game 9: Spring Arbor 11, Azusa Pacific 10
Game 10: Embry-Riddle 6, Bellevue 1
Game 11: Lee 14, Union 8
Game 12: Lewis-Clark State 9, Oklahoma City 5

Tuesday, May 27

Game 13: Spring Arbor 8, Union 7

Game 14: Okalhoma City 11, Embry-Riddle 6

Game 15: Lee 5, Lewis-Clark State 2

Wednesday, May 28

Game 16: Lewis-Clark State vs. Spring Arbor
Game 17: Lee vs. Oklahoma City

Thursday, May 29

Game 18:

Friday, May 30

Game 19: If necessary

Class A West Region Baseball Tournament

May 17, 22, 23, 24

Saturday, May 17

Play-In Games

Game 1: (9) Jamestown 13, (8) Beulah-Hazen 1

Game 2: (7) St. Mary's 17, (10) Turtle Mountain 2

Thursday, May 22

Quarterfinals

Game 3: (1) Dickinson 10 Jamestown 0

Game 4: (4) Minot 3, (5) Mandan 2

Game 5: (2) Century 4, St. Mary's 0

Game 6: (3) Williston 6, (6) Bismarck 5

Friday, May 23

Loser Out

Game 7: Mandan 4, Jamestown 1

Game 8: Bismarck 2, St. Mary's 1

Semifinals

Game 9: Dickinson 5, Minot 1

Game 10: Century 7, Williston 3

Saturday, May 24

State-Qualifying Games

Game 11: Mandan vs. Minot, cancelled

Game 12: Bismarck vs. Williston, cancelled

Championship

Game 13: Dickinson vs. Century, cancelled

Class A East Region Baseball Tournament

May 22-24

Devils Lake Legion Field

Thursday, May 22

Opening Round

Game 1: (3) Grand Forks Red River 5, (6) Wahpeton 1
Game 2: (2) Fargo South 5, (7) Grand Forks Central 4 (10 Innings)
Game 3: (1) Fargo North 8, (8) Valley City 3
Game 4: (4) Shanley 3, (5) Devils Lake 2 (8 Innings)

Friday, May 23

Loser Out

Game 5: Devils Lake 10, Valley City 1
Game 6: Wahpeton 5, Grand Forks Central 3

Semifinals

Game 7: Fargo North 3, Fargo Shanley 0
Game 8: Fargo South 6, Red River 2

Saturday, May 24

State-Qualifying Games

Game 9: Devils Lake4, Red River 1 (8 Innings)
Game 10: North 7, Wahpeton 3

Championship

Game 11: Fargo South 4, Shanley 3

Jimmies Fall in World Series Opener

Spring Arbor defeated Jamestown College 7-5 Friday in the opening round of the 2008 NAIA College World Series at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.

Bradley Baker, Eric Vojtkofsky, and Lucas Rider each drove in a pair of runs for Spring Arbor (38-7) in the win. Vojtkofsky and Jesse Bachman each had three hits in the game.

Jamestown College's Jordan Dusanj was 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs while Cam McLachlan was 4-for-5 with an a run scored Miles Johnson was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Jesse Bachman (9-2) struck out six in seven innings and picked up the win for Spring Arbor while Graham Campbell (9-5) took the loss.

To see the full game box, click here.

DeVillers' Larimore Preview for State Golf

I'm not that hip to the Class B golfing scene other than I know Oak Grove tends to put a pretty legit team on the course year-in and year-out.

But the Grand Forks Herald's Greg DeVillers put together an interesting read on Larimore, a team that has had a pretty solid run - going to the state meet for the 7th straight season.

To check out the story on the Polar Bears, click here.

Jeremy Burgard at NAIA World Series

It's always good to see a North Dakota kid doing good in sports at the college level. For Dickinson's Jeremy Burgard, he's helped lead Jamestown College to their second-ever trip to the NAIA World Series in Idaho.

Burgard is one of those guys who has been honored with individual awards, but he has struck me as a team-first kind of guy and it's a joy to watch him succeed.

The Dickinson Press sports editor Dustin Monke put together a feature/WS preview on Burgard, definitely a good read. Click here to read it.

DP State Track Previews

The Dickinson Press sports writer Chris Aarhus is one track writing machine as he cranked out three state track previews for one edition. That my friends is a good day's work.

To read the Aarhus story on Dickinson High's Skyler Beaudoin click here and to read the Aarhus story on Marcus Sickler click here. If you want to read the Aarhus story on Richardton-Taylor's Jadon Messer click here.

2008 State Track Meet - Day 1

To view full results from the state track and field meet, click here.

A couple of highlights:

From Class A

South's Fargo Roesler posted the fastest times in the 100, 200, 400.
West Fargo's Ellie Grooters has the fastest times so far in both hurdle events.
Bismarck's Jason Duscherer posted the fastest times so far in the 100, 200 and 400.
Bismarck went 1-2 in the mile as Joash Osoro won (4:27.38).
Century's Karl Effertz (6-3) out dueled Jamestown's Brian Sinner (6-2) in the high jump.

From Class B

FLPRAE's Adrienne Thomas has the fastest times in the 100 and 400 so far.
Benson County's Lindsay Anderson won the 1600.
Maple Valley-Enderlin's Kristen Killoran has the fastest times in the hurdle events, and finished an inch shy of the state record in the long jump, winning by about half a foot.
Lisbon's Kali Olson went 5-3 to win the high jump.
Griggs County Central's Katie Gruman won the discus (136-0).
Hazen's Brian Sorenson had the fastest times in the 200 and 400.
Rugby's Dylan Yoder won the 1600 (4:35.84).
Glenburn's Seth Wisthoff won the discus, tying Jim Kleinsasser's state record of 183-11.

The state meet concludes on May 24.

Sun Class B State Baseball Primer

A shorty from the Jamestown Sun, providing a bit of background on the field of teams for the 2008 state Class B baseball tournament.

Click here for the read.

MDN Velva-Drake State Baseball Preview

Velva-Drake should be considered one of the favorites when it comes to the upcoming state Class B baseball tournament. The team has been to state repeatedly and even if some of the kids on the roster haven't played in the state tournament, they have watched, they have learned and they know the drill.

Also, Mike Thingstad does a pretty good job heading up the team and when I've seen them play, they sure appeared to be a pretty salty team.

Mike Linnell delivers the state preview. Click here to give it a read.

Feature on GFC's Colin Parrish

When it comes to quotes, I don't know if it gets any better than this:

"I've I've been left high and dry. Too many runner-ups. I've got to put my big boy pants on now."

Yes sir, Grand Forks Central runner Colin Parrish can deliver a sound byte like few others.

To read Tom Miller's complete story, click here. I'm not hugely interested in long-distance running, and I found it worth a read. Great stuff.

Class B All-Region Teams

The Grand Forks Herald ran the All-Region baseball teams for Regions 2, 3, 4 and 5.

From those regions listed, the upcoming state tournament may showcase a potential pitching matchup of region SPOY in Dakota Prairie's Seth Nichols and Grafton's Anthony Kliniske, 13 All-Region players, and three region COY. Good stuff.

To give it a read, click here.

Chris Coste Book Signing

If you enjoy reading a book about athletes, I highly suggest picking up The 33-Year-Old Rookie, a book spun from the experiences of Philadelphia Phillies catcher Chris Coste. It is probably going to cost you 20 or 25 bucks, but if you are from North Dakota and you dig on baseball at all, this book should be on your shelf.

I'm a huge fan of Coste. His break into the majors and my start in sports journalism kind of happened at the same time. I remember hearing about him going to the Phillies spring training and absolutely tearing it up, and I remember being completely shocked when he didn't make the 25-man roster that spring. But, as the book will demonstrate, it isn't the first time Coste has had to remember patience, it isn't the first time he's been told he was too old and too slow, and it isn't the first time Coste had to deal with failure.

I think that is what draws me to the game of baseball. The game is built on failure and the players' ability to overcome that constant failure. In a way, the game is very much like life. You go out there every day (well, 182 regular season games, plus spring training, plus the postseason) and you see what you can do. If you have an average day (we'll say 1-for-4) it is just that, an average day. But some days, you are unstoppable (we'll say 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, a walk and 3 RBI). Eventually you are going to have to wear the collar of an 0-for-4 or 0-for-5 day and you are going to strikeout. But tomorrow you are going to go right back out and take a hack.

And that is what Coste has done with his career. In it he talks about some of his early baseball memories, his high school, college, minor league and major league career. It is funny, sad, everything in between.

If you are in Fargo on July 15 (and Coste isn't named to the National League All-Star team I'm assuming), swing by Barnes and Noble. Coste will be there selling and autographing his book, starting at 7 p.m.

In a time where some professional athletes that aren't truthful, aren't approachable, aren't anything you want your kid to grow up and be, what Coste is can be what saves professional sports long-term. Also, if you want to check out his website, click here.

B Baseball Region Championship Stories

Here's a chance to brush up on the teams that make up the field of the 2008 state Class B baseball tournament in Jamestown.

Region 1 - LaMoure-Litchville-Marion (Forum story) (Sun story)

Region 2 - Central Valley-Hillsboro (Forum story)

Region 3 - Dakota Prairie (Sun story - scroll down)

Region 4 - Grafton

Region 5 - Munich-Starkweather-Cando

Region 6 - Velva Drake (Daily News story)

Region 7 - Minot Ryan (Daily News story) (W.Herald story)

Region 8 - Steele-Dawson

Darin Erstad - May 21

Major League Baseball's pride of Jamestown, Darin Erstad, recently passed a career hit total of 1600 recently. Gotta say, that is a pile of hits. No, we aren't talking about breaking the MLB record in hits or anything like that, but Ersty has had one heck of a career.

Considering he spent parts of a couple of seasons on the disabled list, his career numbers probably will never reflect the offensive impact he's had over his career. And, because he was such a standout defensive player (the only major league player to get gold gloves in the outfield and infield) a lot of his offensive contributions will likely be overlooked.

For his career he's played in 1,448 games and is a .284 hitter (1602-for-5633). He has 300 doubles, 31 triples, 119 home runs (a .751 career OPS), 668 RBI and 178 stolen bases.

As a part-time player and pinch hitter for Houston this season he's found a bit of a revival in his career. Take the last 10 games he's played in for instance: He's hitting .375 (6-for-16) with 7 RBI, 1 HR, 2 runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Of hose 10 games he's started three of them, pinch hit in five of them and was a defensive replacement in two without an at bat.

On the season he's hitting .308. Split that between righties and southpaws, he's hitting .300 against right-handed pitching and .400 versus lefties. He gives you quality at bats, drives in runs, and doesn't look foolish with the glove.

Injuries have been his one bugaboo, and it remains to be seen if he'll play throughout the entire season, but he's off to a fabulous start in 2008. Here's to him continuing to provide solid production throughout the entire season.