Submitted Photo Ty Iverson, back, Logan Dixon (23) and the rest of the Minot Metros head to the state tournament in Casselton this weekend as the No. 3 seed out of the West Region. Photo by Tanner Ecker/Bismarck Tribune

Getting to the state tournament is hard enough, an accomplishment that just four of the eight teams in the West Region get to experience each year.

As the Minot Metros have come to find out the last two times they have qualified, winning at the state tournament is on an entirely different difficulty level, and they’re hoping it is an accomplishment they can achieve this time around.

“Getting a higher seed helps your chances a little bit more, but we’ll see,” Minot coach Craig Schmich said. “I’ve been to two state tournaments before as Metros coach. Last year we went 0-2, and in 2021 we went 0-2. The biggest thing for us is going and winning a game there and building from there.”

For the second consecutive year, the Metros claimed one of the four spots out of the West and join the four best teams from the East to make up the eight-team field in Casselton. The Metros are the No. 3 seed out of the West after a pair of wins against Dickinson and the Bismarck Senators on the final day of the West Region tournament. They will play Kindred, the No. 2 seed from the East, who had a Cinderella-like run through the East Region tournament as the sixth seed, eventually falling to Devils Lake in the championship game on a walk-off single.

Schmich and the Metros are seeking that elusive victory at the state tournament after falling short in their last two attempts. They lost 10-0 to Devils Lake in last year’s first round and then dropped a 9-1 decision to Mandan in a loser-out game. Back in 2021, the Metros fell 8-0 to the West Fargo Vets in the opener before seeing their tournament run come to an end with a 6-5 loss to the Bismarck Capitals. The Metros were the No. 2 seed in both of those instances.

Minot and Kindred didn’t meet during the regular season, so there is not a lot of familiarity, but Schmich does know every game from here on out will be challenging.

“It doesn’t matter if they are the two seed, three seed, seven seed, or 10 seed,” Schmich said. “It doesn’t matter because this is playoff baseball at this point and everybody is playing to stay alive. Everyone is going to be playing their best baseball at the right time and now it’s going to be about who executes to the best of their ability when the moment calls for it.”

During their four-game run at the West Region tournament, the Metros showcased their ability for timely hitting, quality pitching and solid defense, with all three phases being most present together in their victory over the Bismarck Senators in the third-place game. Schmich is hoping that momentum carries over to this weekend, especially in the pitching department.

“The biggest thing is throwing strikes and playing defense,” Schmich said. “I told the guys since Day 1 that pitching and defense is what ends up winning you championships. You see some of these best teams – MLB, college – the best pitching teams typically end up winning because you can combat good pitching against good hitting. Hitting for the most part tends to slump. Pitching and defense normally doesn’t. If you can go do that, and play some good defense and grind our pitchers, I think we’ll be in a pretty good spot.”

Kayden Danielson was the workhorse on the mound for the Metros at regionals, tossing a team-high eight innings, 130 pitches and 10 strikeouts. He tossed a one-hitter over six innings against the Senators and earned the save in their opener against Watford City. The Metros used seven different pitchers and held opponents to a .262 batting average. Opponents hit just .077 and .167 against Danielson and Remington Anderson, respectively.

As for the bats, the Metros piled up 32 teams as a collective, with 27 RBIs and 34 runs scored in four games. Gavin King and Jace Price led the way with seven and six hits, respectively. Gavin King hit .500, going 7-for-14 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Price batted .462 in 13 at-bats, with two doubles, three runs scored and a team-high six RBIs. Every Metros batter that had more than one at-bat recorded an RBI and all 12 that saw game action recorded a hit. The Metros batted .296 as a team.

The Metros committed just three errors and had a fielding percentage of .968.

As for their opponent, it’s been a tale of two halves – the first being forgettable and the second being memorable. Kindred went 5-10 in the month of June, but posted a 12-4 July, turning that into upset victories over No. 3 seed West Fargo and No. 2 seed Fargo Post 2 in the East Region tournament. Kindred enters the state tournament winners of seven of its last nine games.

“The East has very talented teams throughout, so the four teams that are coming from the East and all four teams that are coming from the West are going to be really good,” Schmich said. “I don’t know too much about Kindred, but what I do know is they came into the East regional as the sixth seed and they caught a little bit of fire and got to the championship game and lost on a walk-off single to Devils Lake. I know they’re going to be a good team. We’re going to have to pitch it well, play some defense and get some timely hits when needed.”

Valley City, the Bismarck Reps, Minot and the Bismarck Senators make up the West representatives at the tournament, while the East side is filled out by Devils Lake, Kindred, Fargo Post 2 and tournament-host Casselton.