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First pitch for Beavers baseball around the corner

Minot State's baseball season is scheduled to kick off Monday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. against Northwest Missouri State University.

When the Minot State Beavers take the diamond for the first time in 2021, currently scheduled for Feb. 22 at Northwest Missouri State, they will do so under the overarching philosophy set in place by head coach Scott Eul when he arrived at the program in June 2016.

That philosophy is a common one, but it has led to overwhelming and instantaneous program success from the moment Eul took the reins to the team: speed doesn’t take a day off. As long as his players put in the effort and run hard on the bases, they are focusing in on the one aspect of the game that is entirely in their control.

The simple but effective doctrine has led to quite a few talented teams in Eul’s four seasons at the helm. After making the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament in 2017 for the first time since joining the league, the squad won 63 total games in the next two seasons. The program’s first NSIC regular-season title followed shortly after in 2018.

The 2019 Beavers also broke a litany of school records, setting the marks for the most stolen bases (and attempts), runs scored, triples, RBI and total bases, to name a few. Even with the abundance of immediate success over the last four years, Eul is every bit as thrilled about the arrival of the 2021 season as any of his previous four.

“We’ve got a really good mix of returners, experienced guys, and new guys,” he explained. “The experience is going to play huge. Last year we had a really nice start, which we’ve been lacking in the years prior here. I think that same energy, confidence and swagger that played with us is back, and it made them a little hungrier than we have been. I think the guys are fired up and ready to go.”

The depth of the team is one of its biggest strengths, and the main source of Eul’s excitement. The versatility of his position players and the flexibility of the arms on his pitching staff make for a much less stressful job for the fifth-year Beavers coach. The team is well-balanced with veteran experience at the collegiate level and young potential that has yet to be realized.

He singled out Trevyn Badger and Cameron Bagshaw, two freshmen coming from Arizona, as names to watch in the rotation as well as the back end of the bullpen. Matt Malone is a freshman backstop with experience in the 2019 Division II College World Series with New York Tech.

The team’s current veterans, including seniors Nolan Monthei and Ryley Humrighouse, junior southpaw Zach Newman, and redshirt sophomore outfielder Dillon Buckmeier provide the necessary leadership Eul looks for to help in guiding the younger players along and helping them reach the heights of their talent.

“The best teams are ones that take care of business day-in and day-out with the coach there or not,” he said. “Our guys have done an awesome job with that. I think leadership is going to play a huge part in what we’ve got this year.”

On the field, Eul pointed to the back of his bullpen as one of the components he feels most confident in.

“Blake Gallagher is closing games out for us with Aaron Kern and Jordan Chappell, a couple of returners who did well for us last year,” he said. “And then a couple of newcomers, Cameron Bagshaw and Trevyn Badger have stepped into some really big roles and have done really well for us. The back end of our ‘pen is going to be really good.”

The trio of Gallagher, Kern and Chappell all have shown the ability to back up Eul’s faith his players. Chappell recorded over 12 strikeouts per nine innings pitched during his 2019 season at Northeastern Junior College before joining Minot State. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, he fanned 11 hitters in 10.2 innings in relief.

Gallagher whiffed 30 hitters in 22.1 innings in his 2019 season with Colby Community College, and pitched 8.1 innings of two-run ball in 2020.

Kern has been with the Beavers since 2017, and broke out in a big way a year later with a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings. He shouldered an even greater workload in 2019, striking out 36 hitters in 39.2 innings. Behind the strength of the relief corps, Eul and his club are restlessly awaiting the chance to finally get onto the dirt and begin another march toward the tournament.

“We’re excited about our leadership and the depth of our roster,” he continued, “and we’re anxious to get rolling this spring.”

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