Tribune notebook: Corn Belt lookin' good

Tom Elliott, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·4 min read

Aug. 16—These might just be the salad days for amateur baseball's Corn Belt League.

Three Corn Belt teams took up the three qualifying spots from Region 4C for the state Class C tournament, which begins Friday in Faribault, Dundas and Miesville.

The three — Bird Island, Raymond and Willmar — shook off some tough competition from the County Line League in Spicer, home to the league's New London-Spicer Twins. The Atwater Chuckers, Starbuck Stars and Paynesville Pirates, like the Twins, are all good teams. They just didn't make it happen the past two weekends because of how well the Corn Belt teams performed.

The state brackets were announced Sunday. They proved to be promising for the Corn Belt. Willmar and Raymond, which have first-round games, have favorable matchups. Bird Island, the Region 4C champ, has a first-round bye.

Willmar, the third seed, plays the Clinton Cardinals at 11 a.m. Sunday in Miesville. Clinton was the second seed from Region 9C. The Rails, back in the state tournament for the first time since 2003, have a good shot at winning. If they do, they'll play the Delano Athletics, a top-10 in the state rankings most of the summer, at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 in Dundas.

Raymond, meanwhile, gets the Wanamingo Jacks in the first round of the 48-team, single-elimination tournament at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in Faribault.

The Rockets, a strong mix of veterans and youth, should be considered the favorite against Wanamingo, the third seed from Region 5C. If Raymond wins, it would face Region 8C champion Nisswa at 11 a.m. Aug. 27 at Faribault.

Bird Island, meanwhile, plays the winner of Loretto and Waterville at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 28 in Dundas. Both teams are tough. Loretto upset Delano in the first round of the Region 12C tournament before losing to the Athletics in the final to get the No. 2 seed. Waterville has been a top-10 team in the state rankings most of the summer.

It all gets tougher in the second round for Willmar, Raymond and Bird Island. But getting all three into the second weekend of the tournament would be a feather in the league's hat.

Former BOLD star Logan Nissen is pitching for the Kane County Cougars of the independent American Association. The team, located in Geneva, Illinois, is using Nissen as a relief pitcher.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder is 1-1 with a 2.38 earned-run average in 19 appearances. The hard-throwing right-hander has struck out 23 and walked 11 in 22-2/3 innings. He was signed by Cougars after playing for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks in the American Association in 2021.

The former Bethany Lutheran College pitcher also remains on the Bird Island Bullfrogs' roster, where he helped them get into the final weekend of the 2020 state amateur tournament.

Bullfrogs manager Mike Nagel said he hopes the 26-year-old continues his climb up the ladder in pro ball.

Nagel also confirmed that Jordan Sagedahl, the South Dakota State infielder/catcher, will not return to the Bullfrogs this season. Sagedahl is currently playing for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League, but will head to school in Brookings, South Dakota, once Willmar's playoff run is over.

The Ridgewater men's basketball team has announced that is bringing in 16 new players into the program for the 2022-23 season.

Included are guards: Terbuto Ochothow (6-foot-2 from Worthington); Mark Westerfield (6-2, Davenport West, Iowa); Evin Ashcrafter (6-3, Magnet Cove, Arkansas); Drake Gomez (6-1, Irondale); Erizen Traconis (5-8, Sleepy Eye); Shane Scharmach (6-0, Winona); Noah Wilts (5-10, Marshall); Mason Mattingley (6-5, Elk River); Cornell Ayers (6-3, Mankato West); Carter Hillesheim (6-1, Springfield); Isaac Kronback (6-4, Wabasso) and Kolton Kunz (6-2, Mankato Loyola).

Forwards coming to Ridgewater are: Tanner Swanson (6-4, Superior, Wis.); Marwan Abdi (6-3, St. Peter) and James Coffland (6-2, Springfield).

Also committing is center Trevor Dorenbosch (6-6, Cyprus High, Utah).

The Warriors open the season Nov. 11 at Worthington. Their home-opener is Nov. 15. Head coach Nathan Thooft led Ridgewater to a 15-9 record last season.