Loboes head into Region 3 tournament as favorites to repeat

May 19—CARRINGTON — There are currently six high school baseball teams in the state of North Dakota that are undefeated in region play at all levels. There is one team in Region 3 that can claim to be a part of that group, the LaMoure/Litchville-Marion Loboes.

The team has a region high 10 upperclassmen on the roster, which head coach Derold Haugen credits with his team's success.

"We got a lot of experience back from last year, we returned eight of the nine starters last year," Haugen said. "These kids have been playing ball for the past I don't know how many years. They have a lot of experience in big games."

The Loboes are 9-0 in region play and 10-1 overall heading into the Region 3 tournament as the top seed with their first game coming on Monday, May 23, at Carrington High School. In the 2021 season, the Loboes made it all the way to the state championship game where they fell to Renville County.

The Cardinals come in as the No. 2 seed with a 6-3 record in region play and a 6-4 record overall. The Cardinals are the No. 2 seed for the second year in a row after losing in the second round to eventual runner-up Kidder County.

Loboes senior pitcher and shortstop Corban Potts said he and his teammates have the loss to Renville at the front of their minds heading into the postseason.

"That's No. 1 on the list, bring one back to LaMoure; (we have) never had a high school championship, so it would be pretty cool," Potts said.

Offensively, the Loboes are led by Potts' .571 average with nine doubles and 21 RBIs. In 35 at bats, the senior has only struck out three times. On the mound, the team has a 1.00 ERA with Landon Piehl and Jacob Nitschke leading the way with a 0.00 ERA.

The tournament opens at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, when the No. 3 seed Kidder County hosts the No. 6 seed Sheyenne/ New Rockford. The other play-in game happens at 12 p.m. Friday, May 20, as the No. 4-seeded Midkota/Dakota Prairie/Lakota/Griggs County Central takes on No. 5 seed South Border.

The Cardinals come into the tournament as the hosts, which head coach Wayne Shipman said is big for his team's confidence.

"Our team should be pretty fired up because we haven't had a home game all year," Shipman said. "Our field is finally ready to play now as of today or yesterday. It's now tournament time so hopefully, the rain will hold off and we will get to play the tournament here, and they should be pretty fired up to get to play at home."

By virtue of being the top two seeds, the Loboes and the Cardinals are waiting for the winners of the play-in games. In the first game of the second round, at 10 a.m. on May 23, the Loboes face the winner of the game between M/DP/L/GCC and South Border. The Cardinals return to the diamond at 12:30 p.m. when they face the winner of Kidder County and New Rockford-Sheyenne.

In the eyes of Shipman, it is important that his team does not play in the play-in games and gets the first-round bye to preserve their arms.

"I would say it's important because (when) it comes down to it, pitching depth is what gets you through the tournament," Shipman said. "So, not having to play that first game allows us to save a little bit in the pitching department; as long as we win our first game that we'll play. If you don't win that you're kinda back to square one."

The Cardinals junior outfielder and pitcher Hudson Schmitz said he and his teammates have to boil the game down to the very basics to win the tournament.

"We first have to throw strikes which is one of the main things," Schmitz said. "Next, we have to make solid contact and put the ball in play. If we can do those things well we have just as good a shot as anybody to win the tournament."

First round bracket is below:

May 18

At Steele

G1: #3 Kidder County vs. #6 Sheyenne/NR, 5 p.m.

May 20

At Tolna

G2: #4 M/DP/L/GCC vs #5 South Border, 12 p.m.

May 23

At Carrington

#1 L/L-M vs. G1 winner, 10 a.m.

#2 Carrington vs. G2 winner, 12:30 p.m.