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Season Review The 2008 baseball season began many possibilities as well as question marks. The Beaver Baseball Team doubled their size under 1st year head coach Brock Weppler. The team returned 17 players from the 2007 season and brought in 17 freshmen along with 4 transfers. The season started off slow for the beavers. Through the first 14 games, the team overall record was 2-12. The pitchers were off to a much better start than previous seasons, however the bats were silent. Through those 14 games, the bats managed only 2 doubles and 6 extra base hits overall. Through those first games Mike Ronnie continued to show why he is one of the top hitters in the conference, by hitting .409 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI. Kory Houston, a freshman from Minot, also shined, as he batted .412. The second half of the season is where the offense began to shine. Through the teams final 24 games, the team average was .308 overall. Curt Stasiw, a junior from Thunder Bay, Ontario, found his groove. In those games Stasiw batted .420 with 8 homeruns and 5 doubles with 36 RBI’s. The pitching staff’s team ERA stayed around 6.5, which is over one full earned run lower than the team’s ERA in 2007, pitching against wood bats! Going into the conference tourney, the Beavers were the 6th seed. They would match up against #1 seed Mayville State University. They had beaten Mayville 3 out of 4 times on the season. The first time in 5 years the Beavers had beat Mayville! The game was an epic matchup, as the Beavers outlasted Mayville in 11 innings 1-0. The Beavers would then match up against #3 seed Jamestown College. Minot would go on to lose the game in extra innings, 10-8. Minot was ahead in the game 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs. Jamestown ended up hitting a weak chopper to short and beat it out to score the tying run and force the game into extra innings. Next up would be Valley City State. The Beavers would win that game by a score of 13-4. Minot would face Dickinson State in the final game of the tournament for the Beavers. They would go on to lose by a score of 8-4. Once again they had the lead 4-3 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. Dickinson would come up with some clutch hitting to win the game in the 9th inning. The team would place four players on the 2nd team All Conference team. Mike Ronnie made the team for his third year in a row, but the first time as an outfielder. Curt Stasiw made the team, after taking a year off from baseball and returned to his sophomore form, when he made 1st team as a DH. Kory Houston made the team as a freshman. Ryan Bodell made the team as a pitcher and had a fantastic season. The 2008 season brought several outcomes that had not happened in years. The team beat Mayville State for the first time in 5 years. They won a conference tournament game for the first time in 5 years. The Beavers also place 4 players on the All Conference team, the highest total since 1998. The team batting average ended up at .291, the highest total the Beavers have on record, dating back to 2002. Ryan Bodell made All Conference as a pitcher, the first time since 2000 the Beavers have had a pitcher make the All Conference team. The Beaver baseball team made some big strides in 2008 and look to continue to improve in 2009. The Beavers lose seniors: Curt Stasiw, Jordan King, Ryan Bergen, Mike Montross, Tyler Schlagenhauf, and Will Butler. They return 6 out of 8 everyday starters and look to fill in the holes left by Montross, Schlagenhauf, and Butler on the mound. Look for the Beavers to improve in 2008 and contend for a Conference Championship! | |||||||||||||
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