The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Post 25 continues District 4 dominance with 4-3 victory for title; advanced to play Park River last Friday at State 'B' Tournament -
Carrington Post 25 team members give out a victorious cheer as they hold up the District 4 trophy following their 4-3 win over the LAW (Linton/Ashley/Wishek) Rattlers.
Carrington Post 25 team members are pictured with the District 4 Tournament champions' plaque following their 4-3 win over the LAW Rattlers. Front row: Peyton Harrington, Tate Wolsky, Kael Kovar, Grady Shipman, Ethan Roller, Jacob Boeshans and Cody Otto. Back row: Max Whitman, Josh Bickett, Owen Hagel, Hudson Schmitz, Jack Erickson, Ryder Bickett, Kyle Johnson and Head Coach Jayden Shipman.
Kael Kovar threw a complete game to get the championship victory with 111 pitches. In the background playing first base is Jack Erickson, and the LAW baserunner is Jace Nitschke.
Coach Jayden Shipman, himself a Post 25 alumnus, guided the team to the state tournament in his first year at the helm.
Even with the change in team leadership going into this season, all the pieces were there for first-year Post 25 Coach Jayden Shipman to make a splash of his own.
The difficulty of following the standard that former Coach Tim Ranum set for the Carrington American Legion baseball program is a hard fact to discount.
But Shipman's club, behind its three 19-year-olds, reached deep down for something extra and completed another successful return to the Class B Tournament with a 4-3 win over the Linton/Ashley/Wishek (LAW) Rattlers Wednesday, July 24, at the District 4 Tournament in New Rockford.
Post 25 went to one of those seasoned veterans, Kael Kovar, to help deliver the plaque and the trip to LaMoure starting August 2.
The hard-throwing right hander attacked the zone effectively, addressing one of his issues this summer by keeping his walks to two for the contest, while striking out three.
His team gave him a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second starting with Max Whitman's leadoff single off LAW starter Cole Nitschke. He stole second base, and would later score on Josh Bickett's opposite field hit. Jack Erickson would then double past the third base line, moving Bickett to third, and Hudson Schmitz completed the rally with a two-run single ahead of a walk to Grady Shipman. The younger Shipman would be tagged out at home trying to make it 4-0, but the damage was done.
Post 25 would add another run on a double play, when Shipman tagged a long drive to the edge of the fence in right-center field. Bickett would tag up and score just ahead of Erickson being called out at second for the third out, which would have nullified the run.
LAW got on the board in the sixth inning. Marshall Lindgren, who led off the inning with a single, advanced to third via error, and scored on a "safety squeeze" bunt by Nitschke.
Things got anxious for Post 25 in the top of the seventh. Justin Bosch's leadoff single was followed by an error off the bat of Parker Salwei to allow Bosch to advance to second. A single by Colin Goettle and another error plated two runs to make it 4-3. With Goettle on second representing the tying run, Kovar got Lindgren to ground out for a game-ending 1-3 putout.
Eight different players had hits for Carrington, and all but two players in their lineup did likewise for the Rattlers. Lindgren was the only player on either side with multiple hits.
Post 25 (17-4) began play last Friday at Townsend Field in LaMoure against Park River Post 147, in the second game of the day.
Game one pitted Cando Post 79 against Lisbon Post 7, with games three and four featuring the Hazen Post 189 Astros taking on the Burlington Bulldogs, and the host, LaMoure Post 19, facing off with Thompson Post 181.
The tournament is scheduled through August 6. Thompson won last year's state title at City Park in Carrington.
