Broken Bat Double
Oral Roberts University is good at Baseball. NDSU is building to match them. The Baseball team isn't in as enviable a position as their female equivalents but it's not like this was their one big swing to make the NCAA tournament. If that had been the approach then the punchless way that they went out yesterday would be more disappointing. That's not to take anything away from ORU's pitcher supreme because the guy was dealing but it was a thoroughly flat line finish to their season.
Coming into Saturday the Bison nine were riding a wave of excellent offense and continued great pitching culminating in two wins in the middle of the Summit playoff. That gave them an outside chance to at least push the Golden Eagles to a sudden death but the top team in the conference wasn't having that. They broke the Bison inning after inning after inning, en route to a 7 - 0 win and another appearance in the bigger show. The future looks good, but off the loss and considering the losses, it may not be immediately better then it was this season.
On your mark, get set, GO!
It's not all dreary for Dakota U. The Track & Field contingent made their efforts to continue the season and join the NCAA championship qualifiers. The women shined brightly after their events and tallied six entrants into the next level of competition. Their male counterparts didn't fare quite as well, but setting a record for inclusion can't be expected for both halves of the team.
Having to wait the week plus before heading out to Eugene, Oregon for the competition must be nerve wracking for even the most seasoned of athletes. Hopefully the nerves and the preparation that they're still putting in doesn't take away from their ability to realize and appreciate the success that they already accomplished. They get to again show the nation what it means to be a Bison on the biggest of stages. Getting to do so at the place where the Football team will next challenge the Football establishment may be a cherry on top.
But for now, best wishes as you go and make us all proud!
Hawks Soaring
A 10 game minor league road trip to start the season. That's not exactly what I would call desirable. Not even close in fact. Man, those guys must really love playing Baseball! The hours of bus time did not a thing to diminish their effectiveness as the season begins. Scorching their opponents to a 9 - 1 start, with the lone loss coming in the final chance to complete a four game sweep a week ago. That speaks for itself. Can they sustain it? A 90% winning rate, no. A return to the dominance of old? Possibly! Kicking of their home slate tomorrow evening may go a long way to revealing that answer.
For the sake of all sports fans in the area, I sure hope that it's more trend then mirage so that the fun they claim to have covered is worth the price of admission. It's good right now and they're soaring high. Now they just need to keep it up!
Scheduling oddity
For as long as I've been aware of such things, North Dakota & Minnesota have operated quite differently. I'm sure that's not unusual from state to state, even ones that are adjacent but sometimes it's strange how differently things are. Not to put an impractical level of significance on it but the latest example has to do with some high school sports. The simple excuse for why Minnesota has barely started their Spring playoffs while North Dakota is nearing the end is that MN has all those additional levels and schools to sort through. It's a legitimate reason but can create unnecessary conflicts.
I spoke to one coach recently who was losing a few of his key players to summer vacation because, it's summer and school stuff should be wrapping up or better yet, already be done. Not so with Sota Spring Sports. The NoDak tournaments aren't over either but being all the way through the EDC & WDC tournaments is a YUUUGE step in the right direction. It's a scheduling oddity and likely won't be altered, it's just unfortunate that it's allowed to disrupt some school's who have to deal with special circumstances!
Pro Bites
Inexplicably, & hopefully inaccurately, there's another rumor that the Timberwolves may be looking into signing Derrick Rose. please Please PLEASE don't waste money or time on that guy! If Thibs dislikes Rubio that much then he should just make another mistake (& do him a favor) by just trading him away already. I don't want that, AT ALL, but coach T's doing it his way...for better or for worse. Whatever they do, they need to not sign Rose.
Meanwhile, in America's past time, the Twins continue to win games and maintain the lead in the division. Winning 6 - 5 or 2 - 1 or any combination of close victories are nice. Having the kind of showings that Santana & Berrios are so far responsible for is another matter entirely. I'm still trying my darndest to pump the brakes on the youngster but he's making it more difficult with every outing. But where he's struggling to show flaws, much of the rest of the pitching staff is compensating. I'm not saying they're terrible or anything but the Twins are trying to go 162 games on a playoff roster's worth of pitchers. Having 2-3 starters in the post season works well enough. Going all the way with such a limited staff could be a problem sooner rather then later. But not to bury the lead, Santana, Berrios, Sano & Kepler are a great core to start the future success that had been promised for so long!