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CLASS A BASEBALL:

The new number one is Dickinson. The Midgets took over ownership of the top spot from West Fargo. Nobody is playing better than the defending state champs, but they’ll have their hands full on Friday when they play at #4 Bismarck Century. Midgets head coach Pete Dobitz told me this week, “If we can throw strikes, we do a pretty good job defensively backing up our pitchers. So we’re going to have to throw strikes and get ahead in the count early.” I also spoke with Century head coach Kent Schweigert who told me the rest of the WDA is “all chasing Dickinson” and had this to say about the doubleheader a month ago, in which the Midgets swept the Patriots. “I think in that doubleheader we issued about 20 walks and when you play a team like Dickinson you can’t give up baserunners like that. So, that’s going to be our big challenge on Friday…to see where we’re at.”  Here’s a look at some updated stats from some of the key players in this big showdown:

Century

Cade Feeney – Fr. INF/Pitcher – 5-0 record, 20 IP, 1.03 ERA - .405 BA (Leads Team), 10 RBI

Alex Jacob – Sr. OF/Pitcher - .394 BA, 14 runs scored

Dickinson

Cameron Jorda – Sr. 3^rd Baseman/Pitcher – 1-1 record, 18 IP, 2.33 ERA - .467 BA, 21 RBI (Leads Team)

Shawn Stoltz – Sr. 1^st Baseman - .441 BA, 20 RBI, 12 runs scored

Meanwhile, Shanley makes its debut in the MidcoSN power rankings. The 5^th ranked Deacons are riding a 6-game win streak and starting to gain some confidence. They have a big matchup with #3 West Fargo on Tuesday, May 9^th.

1. Dickinson (17-1)
2. Fargo North (11-6)
3. West Fargo (15-5)
4. Bismarck Century (13-5)
5. Shanley (12-4)

CLASS B BASEBALL:

Thompson is getting the spotlight on this week’s episode of Varsity Sports on MidcoSN (airs every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT). Marty Mueller from our staff put together a cool feature profiling the emerging dynasty in the small town. Thompson is the defending baseball state champs and also took home the football state title this past fall. The Tommies play four home games over the next week. #2 Kindred-Richland needed extra innings to beat rival Central Cass, 2-1 in 8 innings on Tuesday. #3 Park River-Fordville-Lankin got the win of the week by edging #5 Grafton 3-2 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, #4 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.

1. Thompson (8-0)                                                       
2. Kindred-Richland (13-0)
3. Park River-Fordville-Lankin (11-0)
4. Des Lacs-Burlington (14-0)
5. Grafton (7-2)

CLASS A SOFTBALL:

#1 West Fargo stays on top of the Class A mountain with another perfect week…and I mean perfect. They went 3-0 and outscored opponents by a combined 37-0 and that includes a narrow 2-0 win over Class B foe Central Cass. Bismarck Century replaces Dickinson at #2 after the the Patriots swept the Midgets on Tuesday. We’re starting to see some balance in the west. Everyone was beating everyone this past week, but I keep the Midgets and Bismarck Legacy in my top five.

1. West Fargo (14-3)
2. Bismarck Century (14-4)
3. WF Sheyenne (8-6)
4. Dickinson (9-5)
5. Bismarck Legacy (12-6)

CLASS B SOFTBALL:

I only have one change in the top five and it’s at #5 where Wilton-Wing replaces Grafton. A blog reader made a strong case for the Miners after looking at last week’s power rankings, but the team had to get the job done on the field to prove their worthiness and they did. Wilton-Wing went 3-0 since last week’s poll came out and with 2 of their 3 losses being decided by just one run against two quality teams this season, they’ve earned their spot. The top four remain the same. Kindred-Richland is getting it done with pitching and defense. The Vikings lead the state in runs allowed (1.4/game). Look out for Central Cass though, the Squirrels gave West Fargo its toughest challenge of the season from a ND opponent in a 2-0 outcome over this past weekend.  

1. Kindred-Richland (7-0)
2. Central Cass (9-3)
3. Des Lacs-Burlington (12-0)
4. Hillsboro-Central Valley (7-1)
5. Wilton-Wing (8-3)

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!