DCTC Baseball MCAC Southern Division Champs

Blue Knights first seed in NJCAA Region 13 Championship

After a huge week that included doubleheader sweeps of archrival Riverland Community College as well as Anoka-Ramsey Community College, DCTC baseball concluded the regular season and took first place in the Southern Division of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference. The Blue Knights defeated the RCC Blue Devils 13–1 and 14–7 May 5 in Austin, Minn., taking all four games this year from a team ranked as high as #4 in the NJCAA Men’s Baseball Div. III poll.

“In the first game against Riverland, shortstop Joe Lucas went four for four with two homers, a triple, a double, four runs scored and three RBIs,” said Head Coach Randy Briesacher. “Our ace pitcher, Derek Bergstrom, earned the win, moving his record to 7–2 for the year with a 2.62 ERA and a team-leading 58 strikeouts.”

In game two, Knights third baseman Jon Dabney went five for five with two home runs, four RBIs and four runs scored. Bryce Rippintrop, the number two pitcher in the Knights lineup, got the win, moving his record to 4–3.

The following Saturday, May 8, DCTC faced ARCC in Coon Rapids, Minn., taking two from the Golden Rams, 15–0 and 6–3. The doubleheader ended regular season play with the Knights finishing 29–15 overall and 14–2 in the MCAC South Division.

“Lucas got three hits in five at bats in the first game against Anoka, including another home run plus four RBIs,” said Briesacher. “Aaron Page was the winning pitcher, hurling five scoreless innings. He moved his record to 6–2 with a team-leading 2.32 ERA.”

DCTC pitcher Jared Schmidt gave up two runs in six innings in the second game, which went to one extra inning. DCTC scored four runs in the top of the eighth to seal the deal. Matt Zidar was credited with the win, which moved his record to 6–1 with a 2.90 ERA.

“We are clicking on all cylinders heading into the playoffs,” Briesacher said. “In our last four games, we put together 60 hits, scoring 48 runs versus 13 by our opponents. We are also playing solid defense, racking up only three errors all week. Our pitching staff is getting the job done, with everyone pitching to contact.”

DCTC is seeded #1 in the NJCAA Div. III Region 13 Baseball Championship at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. May 13–16, 2010. The Region 13 champion advances to the 2010 NJCAA Division III Baseball National Championship Tournament May 22–27, 2010, in Tyler, Texas.