Shanley wins the Class A baseball tournament

After Devils Lake narrowly missed out on making the Class A state baseball tournament, Fargo Shanley won it all last weekend in Dickinson.

It was just the second state title for the Deacons. The first came in 2013. It ended a three-year title streak for West Fargo Sheyenne, which didn’t even make the state tournament this season.

Dickinson historically owns the most Class A baseball state titles with five. Devils Lake has yet to win one.

Shanley was seeded no. 1 and was the favorite to win. The Deacons were the preseason no. 1 in EDC and never looked back. They went 22-5 overall.

Shanley was one of two teams to sweep Devils Lake in a dual meet this year. The Firebirds lost 5-1 and 6-3 to the Deacons on April 9. Devils Lake won 11 of their next 12 games and established themselves as one of the best teams in the region. He entered the EDC tournament as the No. 1 seed. 4, but took an exit in a state qualifying game against the No. 7 West Fargo Horace.

The Hawks, who took what would have been Devils Lake’s spot, didn’t last long in the state tournament. They fell 11-1 in the first round to Bismarck Legacy, the top team in the WDA. The Sabers went all the way to the state championship game where, of course, they lost to Shanley.

Perhaps one of the best games of the tournament was the semi-final between Shanley and Fargo Davies. The Eagles, as you might recall, are home to North Dakota’s tallest baseball player, Drew Rerick. The projected MLB Day 2 pick battled Devils Lake’s Mason Palmer in a thriller on May 14. And with a chance at the state tournament, he was once again the centerpiece of an intense contest.

Rerick threw a no-hitter in the EDC tournament to help his team reach state. Davies was seeded no. 3 at EDC and defeated Williston 6-4 to reach the state semifinal against Shanley.

The Eagles had the early advantage. They led 3-0 after three innings and Rerick collected four hits through a trio of hitless innings.

But after issuing a leadoff walk in the fourth, Rerick finally surrendered a hit. It was a two-run homer to bring Shanley back.

The score stood at 3-2, in favor of Davies, until the bottom of the second. With Rerick looking to complete the complete game and send his team to the state championship, Shanley loaded the bases on a walk, an error by the shortstop and a soft single. An RBI hit by pitch tied the game and Shanley won with a leadoff single that sliced ​​over the third baseman’s head with the infield play. It was an unlucky innings for Rerick and one that ended in pain for Davies.

Shanley defeated Legacy 11-6 in a high scoring game. Still, it was a matchup the Deacons largely controlled from the start. They started right away with a three-run first inning. After that, the lead was as small as 3-2 but as large as 10-2. Landon Meier went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and a walk. Thomas Simon also struck out in the win.

Davies lost in the third place game by the same scoreline as the loss to Shanley: 4-3. So Fargo North has officially dropped to third. Devils Lake beat Fargo North 4-3 in the regular season.

In the losers bracket, Horace beat Mandan 9-3, but then lost to Minot 5-4. That made Minot the fifth-place team in the tournament.

Despite not making the state tournament, Devils Lake had one of the best seasons in program history. He competed against many of the teams that battled in Dickinson last weekend. The Firebirds picked up an EDC tournament win over Fargo South, then fell on the short end of a pair of back-to-back games.