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CLASS A BASEBALL

Every team in the top five suffered a loss, but that’s almost expected with how many games they’re playing at this point of the season. For instance, Fargo North has played 8 games since last Thursday. Dickinson dropped a pair of games, but the Midgets have done enough to stay at number one in my opinion. The Midgets split with #4 Bismarck Century and unranked Jamestown. On this week’s Varsity Sports, we caught up with Dickinson and spoke to a Midgets team that is on a mission to repeat as state champs. As for the rest of the top five, #2 North went 7-1 this past week and #3 West Fargo went 5-1. Coincidentally, the only loss for both teams came at the hands of Grand Forks Central. The Knights are getting their season back on track. Since starting 0-5, they’ve won 9 of 11. Brock Reller, a senior CF/pitcher, leads a Central squad that could surprise some teams come playoff time. You could definitely argue that Bismarck Century could fit in anywhere from 2-4. The Patriots have won 8 of their last 9 with the only loss coming to #1 Dickinson. Freshman pitcher Cade Feeney, who we spotlighted last week, got the win on the mound in Century’s victory over the Midgets last Friday. The WDA and EDC tournaments begin in just two weeks, so these next games are important for teams as they try to build momentum for a deep playoff run.

1. Dickinson
2. Fargo North
3. West Fargo
4. Bismarck Century
5. Shanley

CLASS B BASEBALL

If you’re waiting for Thompson to slip up, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. The Tommies were a perfect 4-0 this past week with wins over a trio of teams with winning records (Hatton-Northwood, Hillsboro-Central Valley and Carrington). They’ll face a few more good challenges this weekend at the Enderlin/Casselton tournament. Kindred-Richland suffered its first loss this past week in the backend of a doubleheader with Central Cass, 2-1. The Vikings pitching staff is doing some special things. Brandon Roesler and Ethan Lingen have combined to pitch 53.1 innings and that has produced a 9-0 record, 87 strikeouts and a measly 3 earned runs. Last week I said,

“Des Lacs-Burlington is just humming along on the opposite side of the state, allowing a state best 0.8 runs/game. If the Lakers have another perfect week, I might have to consider moving them up. The question would be who moves down? The margin for error is small.”

Well, DL-B can thank Langdon-Edmore-Munich for dealing Park River-Fordville-Lankin its first loss of the season. That pushes the Lakers up to 3, while the Aggies fall to 4. Bishop Ryan is a new addition to the top five, the Lions haven’t lost since April 11^th. That sets up a huge tilt on Saturday when #5 Bishop Ryan hosts #3 Des Lacs-Burlington.

1. Thompson
2. Kindred-Richland
3. Des Lacs-Burlington
4. Park River-Fordville-Lankin
5. Bishop Ryan

CLASS A SOFTBALL

West Fargo allowed 3 runs to Fargo North in game two last Thursday. Those 3 runs are the only runs they’ve allowed to a North Dakota team since April 11^th when they battled #2 Sheyenne.The Packers are still unbeaten against the state, but they get another series with the rival Mustangs on Thursday. Sheyenne put up 14 runs on the Packers in the previous meeting and had a chance to run-rule the dominant program, but Pat Johnson’s team rallied to win 21-14. We’ll see if the Mustangs can finish the upset this time around. Minot is the hottest team in the west right now. The Majettes have won 8 consecutive and Jenna Andrysiak sets the tone for Gerard Cederstrom’s team. Bishop Ryan and Bismarck Century round out the top five. The west is ultra-competitive right now with five teams separated by 4 points. Cederstrom told the Minot Daily News, “The West Region, I don’t think I have ever seen it this close. The parity, everybody can beat everybody on any given night.”

1. West Fargo
2. WF Sheyenne
3. Minot
4. Bishop Ryan
5. Bismarck Century

CLASS B SOFTBALL

#1 Kindred-Richland stays at the top after wins over Northern Cass (12-0) and Thompson (4-1). The Vikings will have some unique challenges when they play against Class A teams this weekend at the Class A vs Class B Jamboree hosted at Fargo’s Mickelson Park. #2 Central Cass had a key road win over #5 Hillsboro-Central Valley last Thursday, 10-2. Des Lacs-Burlington stays at #3. The Lakers are defeating opponents by an average of 9 runs/game. It’ll be interesting to see how deep of a run they can make in the playoffs.

1. Kindred-Richland
2. Central Cass
3. Des Lacs-Burlington
4. Wilton-Wing
5. Hillsboro-Central Valley

 Let me know what you think the top five should be in the class(es) you follow the most! Thanks for reading and if you want to reach out to me my email is Jody.Norstedt@midco.com!