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South Dakota Class A

There are several teams that could stake a claim to the top spot in Class A. The Roosevelt Rough Riders split with Huron on Monday but seem to have the most firepower both on the mound and at the plate. Most of their starting lineup is hitting at or near .300 and their team average is .285 with 107 runs in 18 games. Their real star has been Josh Baumgart on the mound. He's taken a lion's share of the innings (23 2/3) and has struck out 41 so far with a 0.88 ERA. But Lincoln is hanging close at number two. They've gotten great pitching especially in the late innings to survive some close games this year. They are the only team to to unbeaten versus Roosevelt this year so far.

1. Roosevelt  14-4       6-1 in the last seven days; only loss was to Huron 6-3 on Monday gave up five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Roosevelt has a tough week with Mitchell, Yankton and Brandon Valley coming up.

2. Lincoln 8-3             Lost to Brandon Valley last Thursday 9-5. Beat Harrisburg 9-7  then Washington 5-1 on Tuesday night.

3. Pierre 10-4           Beat Brandon Valley 5-0 and Mitchell 12-6 last week.   This could be the hottest hitting team in the state right now.

4. Brandon Valley 14-6     5-1 in May, only loss was to Pierre in Mitchell on Saturday. When their top pitchers have been on the mound they're tough to beat. Their offense is heating up.

5. Yankton  12-7        Went 4-0 over the weekend.  Mitchell Gullickson and Adam Walter provided some punch and get the Bucks back in the top five.

South Dakota Class B

1. St. Thomas More 11-1         Two one-run games last week against Chamberlain and Platte on Sunday (4-3). George Eccarius went 5 innings gave up just one hit struck out 6 against Chamberlain. Newt Johnson has been outstanding hitting the ball.

2. Parkston 12-0  Given up three or less runs in 10 of their 12 games. Parkston has been battle tested with a tough schedule and has survived unscathed.

3. Madison 5-0

4. West Central 7-1

5. Bon Homme 9-3      Bounced back in the top five with a late eighth inning charge over Vermillion last week. Chase Kortan has been one of the best players in the class on the mound and in the batter's box.

North Dakota Class A

1. Fargo North 12-7  This team has yet to lose against a North Dakota team. The Spartan offense has been outstanding this year, especially over the past two weeks.
2. Dickinson 10-4  Split with Bismarck, then split with Century. Finally had a strong performance with a sweep over St. Mary on Tuesday.
3. Bismarck 10-7  Split Dickinson on Friday then split Mandan on Saturday, beat Century 7-4 in the Strike Out Cancer game at Haaland Field.
4.  GF Red River 8-3   One run wins against GF Central and Fargo Davies and lost to E Grand Forks. They'll need to generate some offense to contend in the post season.
5.  Century 10-8

Mandan, West Fargo and Minot are all quality teams just outside the top five.

North Dakota Class B

1.   Watford City   12-1 they are batting .400 as a team and averaging 7.4 runs per contest. Watford City’s only loss this season was to Shiloh Christian, 3-2 in extra innings. Watford City's region isn't the strongest but they've shown to be a quality team and a real contender for a state championship.

2. Bishop Ryan 13-3 a 14-0 win over Sawyer 14-0 proves that Bishop Ryan belongs back near the top of the rankings.

3. Kidder County 10-3    In a loaded region, Kidder County is proving to be one of the best. Kidder County took out previous number one  Hazen in two straight games and then beat Beulah and Shiloh

4. Hazen 9-4     Despite getting swept by Kidder County 7-6, 9-8 and splitting with Shiloh Christian they still are one of the best in the state.

5.    Thompson 9-2 Swept Larimore, lost to hatton-Northwood. Still one of the best teams in the Class. Thompson has the pitching to be dangerous in the post-season.

Watch out for Grafton and Shiloh Christian. Both teams have been on the short end of the stick a few too many times to be in the top five but have the talent to beat anyone in the class.

ND Softball A Power Rankings

1.   West Fargo 14-1

2.   Bishop Ryan 10-2    Bishop Ryan took two from previously unbeaten Dickinson last week. They seem to be in mid-season form and ready to post a threat to the Packers come playoffs.

3.  Dickinson  17-2

4.  Century 8-6

5.  Valley City 11-4