Game 1
The Dawson CC Bucs baseball team competed at the Mon-Dak Conference Tournament in Devils Lake, ND this past weekend. The #4 seed Bucs took on Lake Region State College in the #4 vs. #5 matchup to open the tourney on Friday morning. Tyler Clapp took the mound for the Bucs and the Royals came to hit. LRSC scored 4 off of a couple of long balls in the 2nd inning and kept pouring it on with another 4 runs in the 6th inning. The bats were flat for the Bucs as they tallied only 4 hits in a 12-5 loss. Andres Artola led the Bucs with 2 hits and 3 RBI’s.
Game 2
The Bucs came out with a chip on their shoulder against the #3 seed Williston State Tetons. Austin Robertson took the mound for the Bucs and pitched a gem. Robertson pitched seven innings, giving up two walks and striking out six. The offense was led by Andrew Neves who racked up 3 hits including a homerun. Kevinn Castillo also had three hits with a homerun as well. The offense exploded for 11 runs to win 11-0.
Game 3
In the redemption game for the Bucs, DCC drew Lake Region for the second time on the weekend. After allowing LRSC to have their number the majority of the season, they came out ready to compete. Wyatt Sorensen took the mound and had a solid outing, throwing six innings and striking out eight. Andres Artola, Wyatt Sorensen, and Kevinn Castillo led the offense with 2 hits each. Sorensen and Castillo both homered en route to an 11-1 victory for the Bucs, eliminating Lake Region from the tournament. Coach Phil McClure pointed out, “This was the game everyone wanted to play. We had to redeem ourselves after struggling against a good LRSC team much of the season. I am very proud of how the guys came out to compete when it mattered most.”
Game 4
The Bucs drew Bismarck State after Bismarck lost to Miles on Saturday. Coach McClure told his team that it would be tough because of all their sophomores and the way they hit the ball, but to keep it simple and do the small things to have a shot. Adonis Collado started on the mound and struck out five, but walked six. BSC came to hit, scoring three in the third and four in the fourth inning. The Bucs struggled to get runners in, leaving 9 runners on base and falling 12-3. Brett Norby and Cobey Cupp both had solo homeruns in the game.
Regional Bid:
By finishing third in the conference tournament, the Dawson Bucs Baseball team qualified for the Region XIII tournament May 10-12 in Bismarck. This will be the first time since 2016 that the baseball team has made an appearance in the region tournament. Coach McClure stated, “This group of guys has been great to coach. We have had our ups and downs, but everyone is really starting to “buy-in” to the process. I am proud of the guys and their competitive edge here toward the end. If we can manage to swing the bats and stay consistent on the mound, we will be a tough opponent in the tournament. We are really excited to make this appearance. Being in my first season as head coach, I am ecstatic. Coach Sebastian has done a tremendous job getting our pitching staff prepared for this conference tournament and he has been a great addition to our staff.”