Randy Briesacher named MCAC Coach of the Year; Dillon Powell makes All-Region
DCTC Blue Knights baseball fell short at the 2009 MCAC State Tournament, Friday and Saturday, May 1–2, in St. Cloud, Minn. The Knights took the first game of the tourney, knocking off the Mesabi Range Community & Technical College Norsemenin the quarterfinals, 4–2. In two hard-fought battles, the team lost 5–7 to eventual state champs, the Riverland Community College Blue Devils, and 9–11 to the second-place finisher, the Northland Community College Pioneers.
On a brighter note, first-year Head Coach Randy Briesacher was named MCAC Coach of the Year. Sophomore Dillon Powell made NJCAA All-Region 13 and MCAC All-South Division. Sophomores Ben Briesacher, Ryan Rodeck and Marcus Fitzgerald made All-South Division. The Knights also tied Riverland for the MCAC South Division title. Both teams finished 9–3 in division play with DCTC going 29–16 on the season.
Coach Randy Briesacher
Dillon Powell
Ben Briesacher
Ryan Rodek
Marcus Fitzgerald
Ben Briesacher batted .389 with 49 RBIs, leading the team in both categories. Dillon Powell hit .380 with 39 RBIs and 14 doubles. Joe Lucas, Marcus Fitzgerald, Briar Braulick, Dan Noyola, Alex Mack, Andy Slagle and Evan Lucius all hit over .320 with Fitzgerald belting a team-leading six home runs. Lucius led the team with 15 doubles.
Joe Lucas
Briar Braulick
Dan Noyola
Andy Slagle
Evan Lucius
Pitcher Ryan Rodeck turned in a superb season, going 7–2 with a sizzling 1.74 ERA and 69 strikeouts, topping the team in the latter two categories. Luke Anderson went unbeaten at 7–0 with 50 Ks and a 3.19 ERA.
Luke Anderson
Coach Briesacher noted that the Blue Knights were only one game away from playing for the state title. “We almost had Northland,” he said. “All of us would have liked to face Riverland in the finals. Looking back, we had a great year and hope to build on our success for next season.”
For complete box scores, play-by-play and line scores, click the game score under the results column of the Go Blue Knights Baseball Schedule & Results page. For complete team statistics, check out the Quick Links menu.
