It’s anybody’s ball game
It took the final game of the regular season to determine the top seed and site for the Region 5 baseball tournament.
It took the final game to determine all four tournament seeds, for that matter.
Yes, Region 5 was tight this spring. Just two game separated first from fourth.
So, it should come as no surprise that any of the teams – Rolette-Rolla, Rugby, Munich-Starkweather-North Star or Bottineau could pull out three wins and claim the title this week in Rolette.
“You can’t count anyone out,’ said Rolette-Rolla coach Jesse Vote late last week. “Seeds really don’t mean that much.”
The Comets unfortunately found that out the hard way last spring. R-R was the top seed and regional host, but was bounced from the tournament after day one, losing two games.
R-R is hoping for better fortunes this year. The squad once again claimed the top seed.
“Getting that top seed and hosting regionals was the first step we wanted to take,’ said Vote. “Now we want to take another step (win the region tournament).”
Rugby is the No. 2 and coach Jim Cameron said his team is playing good baseball and looking forward to the regional tournament. The Panthers won three of their final four region games and lost just four total during the regular season.
Three-time defending champion Munich-Starkweather-North Star doesn’t have much depth, but the Magicians do have some talent in the lineup and are capable of stringing together three good games.
Bottineau is seeded fourth, but has defeated Rugby and Rolette-Rolla once and lost a close decision to M-S-NS.
The double-elimination started on Friday, May 21 with two quarterfinal games followed by a loser-out game.
The action will resume this Monday, May 24 with the semifinal at 2 p.m. followed by a loser-out game.
The championship will be on Tuesday, May 25, beginning at 2 p.m.