Saints Eye Another State Tourney Run
This season, the Dassel-Cokato Saints amateur baseball team will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their Class B State Championship.
In 1968, just the second season of the Saints’ existence, the team posted a 24-9 record. They won five games in the state tournament, including an 8-3 win over Miesville in the championship game.
Fast forward 40 years and 20 state tournaments, the Saints have continued their winning ways.
In 2007, DC made their sixth consecutive state appearance. The Saints opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over Marshall behind 11 strikeouts from Eric Hanson. Following an 11-1 loss to Miesville, the Saints rebounded to defeat Chaska 6-3. The season ended with a 3-2 extra-inning loss to Austin, who was the Class B runner-up.
The Saints look to celebrate the 1968 championship this season by going to the state tournament for the 11th time in 12 years, and hopefully, win the team’s second-ever championship in the process.
DC will try to do that with a team that looks very similar to last season. The Saints’ three all-stars from last season, Eric Hanson, Justin McKinley, Brent Opsahl, are all back after helping the team to a share of the Central Division title with a 13-5 league record.
Hanson was named the most valuable pitcher in the North Star League for 2007. He led a staff that had the lowest earned run average in the league. The tall right-hander had an overall record of 12-3 and struck out 90 batters in a team-high 106 innings.
He will be joined by two other experienced pitchers. Dan Birkholz and John Riewer had a combined record of 10-2 last season (7-1 in league games) and four saves. Birkholz had a team-low 1.00 WHIP (walks and hits per inning). Riewer led the team with a 1.67 earned run average.
“It boils down to pitching,” manager Mark Forsman said. “We got three of the top pitchers in the North Star League.”
Jordan Danielson and Shawn Larson will also see plenty of innings.
Needless to say, the Saints are expecting good things from those five pitchers again this season.
Most of the pieces are back on the offensive side, as well. In 2007, the Saints had the fifth-best lineup in terms of average. They batted .282 for the season in league games. Overall, they had a .283 average. They also had the fourth-most runs in NSL contests.
Leading the way in the lineup is veteran John Riewer, who returns for another season. He was third in the Central Division last season with a .405 average. He was tied for the top Saint in RBIs with 16.
Hanson will see time at first base when Riewer is not in the lineup.
Third baseman Brent Opsahl was second on the team in hitting with a .358 average in league play, and .365 overall. He led the team in at bats, hits, runs batted in, and on base percentage.
Shortstop Justin McKinley returns as the Saints’ top power threat. He hit three home runs last season and banged out 17 doubles. On top of that, McKinley won the NSL home run derby at Loretto in 2007. Forsman said they are expecting even more from him this season.
Catcher Matt Bergstrom also returns after a productive season. He had a .297 batting average, but had the second-highest on base percentage. He walked 25 times and struck out just nine.
Outfielders Dan Birkholz, Shawn Larson, Cole Flick, John Hohenstein and Nick Corbin were also productive in the Saints’ lineup and return this season.
DC did not escape the offseason without some losses though.
“We lost a couple of big bats,” Forsman said.
Starting second baseman Pete Burkstrand, who batted .395 in the league last season, is no longer with the team.
Phil Niemela, Corbin, and Flick are expected to fill that void.
Another big bat, Mike Marquardt is also gone. As a designated hitter, he batted .300 with six RBIs in league play.
Vinnie and Brent Pokornowski also do not return.
The Saints did get one possible bat as a replacement. Rick Olson, who last played in 1996, has rejoined the team after 12 season away from the Saints. He started his career with DC in 1987.
Olson, who Forsman calls a “helluva” ball player and athlete, never batted below .325 after his first season with the Saints. When he retired in 1996, Olson was second on the team in hits and third in runs that season.
“We are hoping he can come in and help contribute at the plate,” Forsman said.
Ross Bergstrom, along with high schoolers Tyler Zweibohmer, Brendon Opsahl, and Jordan Flick are also new to the team.
The North Star League saw a few changes this offseason just like the Saints roster. The league added two Class C teams, Big Lake and Elk River, which forced a realignment of the divisions, and split up the Class B teams.
The Saints now reside in the West Division with Class B Maple Lake, and Class C Buffalo, Howard Lake, Kingston, and Monticello.
Under the new format, the schedule has also been changed slightly. All teams will play the other team in their division twice. The Class B teams will also play B teams in other divisions twice. Class C teams will play C teams in other division once.
The Saints play 16 games at Saints Field in Dassel this summer. The home opener is Friday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. against Rockford in a non-league game. Other key home dates include Sunday June 22 when the Saints take on Hutchinson, and Friday July 18 when they take on St. Michael just days before the start of the Section 8 playoffs.
For more information on the DC Saints, including scores, schedule, and roster information, go to dcsaints.com.
