The debut season of Minot State freshman infielder Jared Young didn’t go unnoticed by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

In release distributed Tuesday afternoon, Young was named an all-conference second-team selection, making him the first MSU baseball player to be awarded such honors since Minot State’s full introduction to the Northern Sun three years ago.

Young, who hails from Prince George, British Columbia, also made a strong case for freshman of the year with consistent production at the plate. Young led Minot State with a .398 batting average, good for the 11th in the Northern Sun. He also drove in 35 runs and had 25 extra base hits, including five home runs, two triples and 18 doubles – third-most in the NSIC.

In the conference season alone, Young batted .379 and belted four of his five home runs. He also drove in 19 runners, good for second on the team behind sophomore outfielder Jordan Schulz.

Over the course of the entire season, Young struck out just 12 times in 44 games.

Mike Turcotte is the only other Beaver who’s received an end-of-season award from the NSIC. Turcotte became a gold glove outfielder at the conclusion of the 2013 season.

-Daily News Staff

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Lions throttle Flashes

The Bishop Ryan baseball team sputtered a bit this past week, dropping games to Central McLean, Shiloh, Harvey-Wells County and Rugby.

A trip home was just what the Lions needed.

The Lions had no trouble rediscovering their winning form with a 10-0 dismantling of Sawyer on Tuesday at Corbett Field.

Freshman Alex Burckhard pitched five innings of two-hit, shutout baseball to pace the Lions. He was also supported by multiple RBIs from sophomores Eli Stewart and Derek Bartsch, along with a mutli-hit performance from senior outfielder Jared Will.

Ryan won Game 2 by a 16-3 final tally.

Ryan travels to Max-Garrison on Monday.

-Daily News Staff

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Alexander bringing back sports teams

ALEXANDER (AP) – The Alexander High School Comets sports teams will once again be blazing their own way, thanks to the oil boom in western North Dakota.

The school board in the oil patch city has decided to bring back football, basketball and volleyball in the fall now that the school has enough students to field teams. Enrollment has more than tripled in the past five years, to about 180 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, according to administrative assistant Jami Hudson.

Alexander has dissolved an athletic cooperative agreement with Watford City so it can begin competing on its own. Restoring the athletics program is a point of community pride, school board member Lashell Tjelde told The Bismarck Tribune (http://bit.ly/1brEPAf ).

“People here will be very involved and are very excited about having sports back,” she said.

Freshman Grace Nelson was a little girl the last time she saw basketball players displaying the Comets nickname. She’s looking forward to playing volleyball on a hometown team.

“I was here when it got taken away, and I’m here when it comes back. That’s really exciting for me,” she said.

The football program will start small, entering six-man competition with nearby Montana teams.

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NDSU and SDSU standouts getting a shot in the NFL

FARGO (AP) – Standout North Dakota State University defensive end Kyle Emanuel has found a home in the NFL, while two standout college running backs in the Dakotas are getting shots in the pros.

Emanuel was taken by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the NFL draft. He was the 153rd player taken.

During his senior season at NDSU, Emanuel was named winner of the Buck Buchanan award, given to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Bison running back John Crockett wasn’t drafted, but he signed a free-agent deal with the Green Bay Packers. Standout South Dakota State University running back Zach Zenner signed a free-agent contract with the Detroit Lions.

Zenner was the first player in FCS history to post three consecutive 2,000-yard rushing seasons.