James Jackson/MDN Sabre Dogs starting pitcher Jacob Wesselmann opens the season with a dominant performance and the win Friday night at Corbett Field.

Entering into their final season, the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs look to go out on the highest of notes this year as they compete for a second consecutive Expedition League title. The aspiring back-to-back champs began this arduous journey in their season opener Friday evening against the Red River Pilots at Corbett Field.

In the Expedition League last season, the Sabre Dogs ran away with the Lewis Division, eclipsing the second place Badlands Big Sticks by ten games and finishing with an overall record of 48-18. Ultimately, the Sabre Dogs would proceed to capitalize on this stellar season by clinching the Expedition League title.

New to the helm this year for the Sabre Dogs is coach Michael Keeran, who is also the current manager for the Bismarck State College Mystics, a junior college out of Bismarck. With an impressive resume filled with baseball titles and winning records across a multitude of leagues, the skipper looks to continue his success during his tenure with the Sabre Dogs.

Playing in their inaugural season, the Red River Pilots represent the Grand Forks area and will serve as their home team in the collegiate-level baseball Expedition League. They are managed by Matty Holem, a seasoned coach with extensive experience in regards to collegiate-level summer baseball. Like Keeran, Holem has an outstanding resume of his own, coaching in multiple leagues over the years, in addition to having experience at the professional level.

With the season’s first pitch taking place in front of a crowd eager for another summer of wooden-bat baseball, the Sabre Dogs wasted no time in giving the fans a taste of what to expect. After making quick work of the top of the Pilots lineup, center-fielder Luis Pelayo christened the new season with a lead-off single and lit the fuse for a scoring explosion. Shortstop David Demeter followed Pelayo’s single with a double, putting two runners in scoring position.

In grand fashion, designated hitter Ben Newbert blasted the Sabre Dog’s first homer of the new season, quickly putting the Sabre Dogs up 3-0.

After a quiet second inning for both teams, the Sabre Dogs would tack two more on the scoreboard in the third inning courtesy of a double by Demeter, who was quickly brought home on a triple by second basemen Jake Barlow. Two batters later, first baseman Chris Monroe would collect an RBI single before the inning ended with a 5-0 lead by the Sabre Dogs.

To add the finishing touches on what would inevitably be a Sabre Dogs win, the turn of the batting order combined for an additional four runs in the bottom of the eighth to bring the Sabre Dogs lead to an insurmountable 9-0 total and eventual final score.

Dominating the mound, Sabre Dogs starting pitcher Jacob Wesselmann pitched a gem, thwarting any offensive efforts by the Pilots and allowing only two hits on ten strikeouts in an eight inning shutout performance for the win. Closer Jordan Ewig would enter in the top of the ninth to earn the save on two ground-outs and a fly-out.

Next on the schedule for the Sabre Dogs is another contest against the Red River Pilots at 6:35 p.m. today at Corbett Field.