Baseball: Big Sticks enjoying first year in the Northwoods League

BISMARCK N.D.– After four years in the Summer Collegiate Expedition League, and two years in the Independence League. The Badlands Big Sticks made the leap to the Northwoods League, giving them more exposure and higher levels of competition.

“The change has definitely been good for us as a program, and for our fans, “Big Sticks head coach Jordan Price said. “We just got better competition all the way around. The league’s better. The teams are better ran, so it’s just been great for us, and we’re really enjoying it.”

With the beginning of a new chapter for the Big Sticks, the fan support has caught the eye of everyone on the roster. With fans packing the stands to support the boys, in red, white, and blue.

“I mean the environment has been great. Every time we play here the fans come out, even if the weather isn’t great, we still have a lot of fans come out,” Big Sticks pitcher Tyler Conklin said. “The energy is great, even around town we’ll get recognized. We’ll have little kids come up to us and stuff. It’s pretty cool, I mean I love it out here.”

“Just a supportive community. It doesn’t matter if you know each other or not personally, they take care of you. If they see you around town and they recognize you, they make it a point to say ‘hi’ and just let you know how much they appreciate you,” Big Sticks outfielder Kaden Carpenter said. “And the same goes for the players, having the host families host us, and welcome us into their homes. It’s a big deal, and they do a great job and we’re very appreciative of it.”

The move to the Northwoods League also means a new pair of rivalries for the Big Sticks… with the Railroad to Roosevelt Rivalry against the Larks and the Battle of the Badlands with the Hot Tots.

“But it has been fun finally playing the Hot Tots and the Larks,” Price said. “Those guys have been in the Northwoods in previous years, so it feels good to join them and be a part of that group”

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