The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Kael Kovar gets ready to step into the box at the Valley City Tournament.
Carrington's John Raymond O'Hara American Legion Post 25 baseball program comes into the summer with a new face at the controls of the Redbirds' ship, but one that is familiar to those who have followed the team in recent years.
Jayden Shipman faces a tough task in taking over for Tim Ranum as Post 25 head coach. Ranum guided the team to state championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016, as well as two second-place finishes and perennial contender status within the B division.
Shipman is a CHS and Post 25 alumnus, and played college baseball at VCSU. He is currently the manager of CrossRoads Golf Club.
The Redbirds' first action of the season came at the Valley City Legion Baseball Tournament, hosted by the Valley City Post 60 Royals Friday-Sunday, June 7-9, at Charlie Brown Field.
On day one of play, Post 25 took on the Minot Metros, the 'A' division team from the Magic City. Behind 6 1/3 strong innings on the mound from Grady Shipman, in which he struck out 10 Metro hitters, the Redbirds came out winners, 7-1.
Carrington advanced to the semifinal round opposite the Post 41 Spoilers from Grafton, and the middle division team took control early and often courtesy of spring All-State selection Tony Villarreal in a 13-3 six-inning loss.
Villarreal cranked a three-run homer for Grafton and finished with seven RBIs in the win, and the right-hander also did his part on the hill with nine strikeouts.
Post 25 got RBIs from Kyle Johnson and Owen Hagel in the loss, which put them in the third place game against another northeastern North Dakota power, the Park River Pirates of Post 147.
In a wild affair, the Redbirds had a poor game defensively with eight fielding errors, which ultimately led to an 11-8 loss to conclude the tournament.
The 25's fell behind twice by five-run deficits, 6-1 and 7-2, before making their move to tie the score at 8-8 in the sixth inning. Park River would plate the winning runs in the bottom of the sixth, and held off the 'Birds.
Hagel had three RBIs in the loss, putting Carrington at 1-2 for the season.
Post 25 got back to action this past Thursday, but renovation work at City Park was not finished and the team was forced to swap home dates with New Rockford Post 30. The Thursday game was played at Jim Johnson Field in New Rockford, with the July 9 game moving to Carrington.
If the field is ready for play, the Linton-Ashley-Wishek (LAW) Rattlers are scheduled to come to town on Tuesday, June 18, for a 7/5 inning doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. On Wednesday, Post 25 travels to Mayville for another 5 p.m. twinbill.
