HIBBING—After getting some state-tournament experience last year, the Hibbing amateur baseball team would like to taste that success again this season.
The Miners can set themselves up for more of that when they take on Roseau, beginning at 1 p.m. today at Al Nyberg Field.
The winner of this game will get the No. 2 seed in the Northwest Border Division and will play either Warroad or Rainy River in a best of three series in Hibbing, which could set the Miners up as the No. 2 seed in the Region 10C Tournament with teams from the Red River Division.
The team knows what’s at stake.
“They understand what’s laid out in front of them,” Hibbing manager Adam Schafer said. “They understand the importance of the two seed. There’s a lot of different things that you can do with that, especially with pitching and how that sets up by being the No. 2 seed.
“We don’t want to put the cart before the horse, however. We have to take care of business today.”
As for the Royals, Schafer isn’t sure what to expect this season.
“We haven’t seen them yet this year, but last year, during the regular season, they swept us,” Schafer said. “We got them back in the region championship, but they pretty much have the same team back, with a lot of experienced townball and college guys.
“Their manager, Nathan Voll, gets them to the games, and he gets them competing.”
As for Roseau’s offense, Schafer knows they Royals can hit the ball.
“They have some guys in the top and middle of their order that swing it well,” Schafer said. “Matty (Matt Erickson) and Gerbs (Lane Gerber) are our one-two punch. It’s all hands on deck.
“They are veteran pitchers. They understand how to attack them to limit their ability to hurt us. We have to get them out, then continue to work against the guys at the bottom of the order.”
As for Hibbing’s offense, Schafer isn’t sure who his team will see on the mound for Roseau.
“I think they’re top guy is injured right now, but I’m not sure,” Schafer said. “They have the Wensloff brothers, so they have some depth and experience, guys who throw strikes.
“They will have confidence in whoever they’re going with.”
No matter who the Royals throw, they will be facing a Miners’ offense that is clicking on all cylinders right now.
“We’re putting together some college-level at bats,” Schafer said. “We have patience and an understanding of what they want, knowing the type of pitch they need to hit. We’ve been hitting the ball hard.
“We’ve also been running the bases smartly and aggressively. We haven’t had a weak spot, one through nine, in our offense in our eight-game winning streak”
That’s a far cry from what happened at the beginning of the season.
“That was something we struggled with early in the year,” Schafer said. “We weren’t making good contact, and we were leaving guys on base. Now, when we have the opportunity with guys in scoring position, we’re getting those hits.
“The offense is clicking right now. We’re not concerned about that at all.”
Again, getting that No. 2 seed would go along way in determining the Miners’ playoff fate.
“We got that taste of it last year,” Schafer said. “They set a record attendance from as far back as 1953. That experience drives you the next summer. We have to treat this as a playoff game, the one that starts us heading in that bid for a region-championship repeat.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0