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May 22—BEMIDJI — Even the coldest, windiest and rainiest days on diamond can't wipe the smile off of James Garrison's face.
The Bemidji High School baseball team's senior first baseman was in a different position a year ago. He was sidelined for the entirety of his junior season, recovering from a torn ACL.
It wasn't how he expected his high school career to go. He envisioned breaking through at the varsity level as a junior, playing with the guys he's grown up with. Instead, he never laced up his cleats for BHS in 2025.
"I was on the bench for most of the games," Garrison said. "All I could do was watch."
The past 18 months have put a lot of things in perspective for Garrison. Now a senior, he relishes each and every chance he gets to step on the field, just like he did on Friday.
With temperatures hovering in the 50s, sideways rain and wind swirling around the Bemidji State baseball field, in a non-section and nonconference double header against Hermantown heading into a holiday weekend, nobody was happier to be there than Garrison.
He went 1-for-5 on the day with a double and two runs scored. After losing the first half of the doubleheader 2-1, Garrison and the Lumberjacks cruised to a 10-0, run-rule win over the Hawks to close out the regular season.
"We lacked the energy we needed in the first game," Garrison said. "The second game, we really turned it up and got into a groove. Everyone had a couple of good innings to start the game, and it just kept rolling and rolling. Hopefully, we can bring that into next week."
The Section 8-4A Tournament seedings were revealed on Friday morning, with Bemidji landing at No. 5. The Jacks will head to Moorhead on Tuesday to take on the fourth-seeded Spuds in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament.
Garrison will play his first-ever varsity postseason game when the tournament begins.
"I haven't really taken a step back to think about all of it until now," Garrison said. "But I realize how much work I put in to get here, to do this next week. I love it. It feels amazing."
Baseball is Garrison's favorite sport — it always has been. However, he kept himself busy in the winter by playing hockey.
While playing for Bemidji's junior gold team last December, Garrison got tied up with an opposing center on the faceoff and tore his ACL. In a flash, his junior baseball season was gone before the snow melted off the field.
"It was devastating," Garrison said. "I was so excited to play baseball. That was the year I was supposed to make the jump to play varsity with the guys. It was just tough. But I tried to make the best of it with the guys every day. It was still fun. But ... yeah, not how I expected it to go."
Now a senior, Garrison is fully healed. He doesn't think about his repaired knee anymore. He just wants to win.
"Especially after last year, it's not hard to find motivation," Garrison said.
Garrison wasn't in the starting lineup to begin the season. Being a left-handed hitter on a lefty-laden team that had a varsity veteran returning at first base didn't make his path any easier. However, when he got his shot, he forced the issue.
Garrison has now played in 17 games this season for Bemidji (11-8). He's hitting .261 with four extra-base hits in 55 plate appearances. He's a fixture in the middle of the Jacks' order.
"I wasn't starting to begin the season, but I earned my spot," Garrison said. "Knowing how quickly it can be taken away from you is what really motivates me. It motivates me every day. I feel like I sometimes put too much pressure on myself because of it. I have to realize that it's a game and we're having fun. I just have to ride the wave."
While Bemidji will start the eight-team postseason tournament on the road, seeding is more arbitrary than ever this spring. Head coach Jim Grimm knows Section 8-4A is wide open.
Friday's game played out similarly to Bemidji's May 13 doubleheader against Moorhead. The Lumberjacks lost the opener 11-8 before cruising to a 15-5, mercy-rule win in the finale.
"There isn't anyone dominant and there isn't anyone terrible," Grimm said. "(STMA) is going to play Brainerd, the lowest seed, but Brainerd's best pitcher is one of the best in the section. If you have the right guy on the mound, anything can happen.
"We've had good pitching depth in the section tournament. Unfortunately, we've had to use it. We need to get off to a good start. Moorhead is certainly a tough team. ... I think these guys genuinely believe they can win it because they've beaten the better teams in this section and they've gotten better as the year's gone on."
This will be Grimm's third Section 8-4A Tournament since he returned to the dugout. BHS won three straight games after falling to the elimination bracket in a first-round loss in 2024, but was ultimately knocked out by Moorhead late in the tournament. Last season, the Jacks lasted four games before Sartell ousted them.
Grimm knows the postseason is not only tough, but also unpredictable.
"It's why you coach," Grimm said with a smile. "When you see the look in the kids' eyes, that's why you do this. You spend the whole season building for the postseason. We don't take shortcuts along the way to get some wins. Maybe that cost us a win or two ... and I don't know if we're completely ready for the postseason, but we're pretty close."
If Grimm is in search of any reminders after the postseason begins, Garrison's eyes will drive the point home.
"It would mean everything to me," Garrison said of making it to state. " I grew up playing with these guys since I was 5 years old. To go all the way to state, it's the biggest dream."
Hermantown 2, Bemidji 1
HRM 001 100 0 — 2-8-4
BHS 001 000 0 — 1-3-0
WP: Evanson (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K)
LP: Zellmann (4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
S: Bostrom (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
Bemidji 10, Hermantown 0 (F/5)
HRM 000 00 — 0-5-2
BHS 130 15 — 10-9-0
WP: Brodina (5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)
LP: McCubbin (2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)
Continue reading...
The Bemidji High School baseball team's senior first baseman was in a different position a year ago. He was sidelined for the entirety of his junior season, recovering from a torn ACL.
It wasn't how he expected his high school career to go. He envisioned breaking through at the varsity level as a junior, playing with the guys he's grown up with. Instead, he never laced up his cleats for BHS in 2025.
"I was on the bench for most of the games," Garrison said. "All I could do was watch."
The past 18 months have put a lot of things in perspective for Garrison. Now a senior, he relishes each and every chance he gets to step on the field, just like he did on Friday.
With temperatures hovering in the 50s, sideways rain and wind swirling around the Bemidji State baseball field, in a non-section and nonconference double header against Hermantown heading into a holiday weekend, nobody was happier to be there than Garrison.
He went 1-for-5 on the day with a double and two runs scored. After losing the first half of the doubleheader 2-1, Garrison and the Lumberjacks cruised to a 10-0, run-rule win over the Hawks to close out the regular season.
"We lacked the energy we needed in the first game," Garrison said. "The second game, we really turned it up and got into a groove. Everyone had a couple of good innings to start the game, and it just kept rolling and rolling. Hopefully, we can bring that into next week."
The Section 8-4A Tournament seedings were revealed on Friday morning, with Bemidji landing at No. 5. The Jacks will head to Moorhead on Tuesday to take on the fourth-seeded Spuds in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament.
Garrison will play his first-ever varsity postseason game when the tournament begins.
"I haven't really taken a step back to think about all of it until now," Garrison said. "But I realize how much work I put in to get here, to do this next week. I love it. It feels amazing."
Baseball is Garrison's favorite sport — it always has been. However, he kept himself busy in the winter by playing hockey.
While playing for Bemidji's junior gold team last December, Garrison got tied up with an opposing center on the faceoff and tore his ACL. In a flash, his junior baseball season was gone before the snow melted off the field.
"It was devastating," Garrison said. "I was so excited to play baseball. That was the year I was supposed to make the jump to play varsity with the guys. It was just tough. But I tried to make the best of it with the guys every day. It was still fun. But ... yeah, not how I expected it to go."
Now a senior, Garrison is fully healed. He doesn't think about his repaired knee anymore. He just wants to win.
"Especially after last year, it's not hard to find motivation," Garrison said.
Garrison wasn't in the starting lineup to begin the season. Being a left-handed hitter on a lefty-laden team that had a varsity veteran returning at first base didn't make his path any easier. However, when he got his shot, he forced the issue.
Garrison has now played in 17 games this season for Bemidji (11-8). He's hitting .261 with four extra-base hits in 55 plate appearances. He's a fixture in the middle of the Jacks' order.
"I wasn't starting to begin the season, but I earned my spot," Garrison said. "Knowing how quickly it can be taken away from you is what really motivates me. It motivates me every day. I feel like I sometimes put too much pressure on myself because of it. I have to realize that it's a game and we're having fun. I just have to ride the wave."
While Bemidji will start the eight-team postseason tournament on the road, seeding is more arbitrary than ever this spring. Head coach Jim Grimm knows Section 8-4A is wide open.
Friday's game played out similarly to Bemidji's May 13 doubleheader against Moorhead. The Lumberjacks lost the opener 11-8 before cruising to a 15-5, mercy-rule win in the finale.
"There isn't anyone dominant and there isn't anyone terrible," Grimm said. "(STMA) is going to play Brainerd, the lowest seed, but Brainerd's best pitcher is one of the best in the section. If you have the right guy on the mound, anything can happen.
"We've had good pitching depth in the section tournament. Unfortunately, we've had to use it. We need to get off to a good start. Moorhead is certainly a tough team. ... I think these guys genuinely believe they can win it because they've beaten the better teams in this section and they've gotten better as the year's gone on."
This will be Grimm's third Section 8-4A Tournament since he returned to the dugout. BHS won three straight games after falling to the elimination bracket in a first-round loss in 2024, but was ultimately knocked out by Moorhead late in the tournament. Last season, the Jacks lasted four games before Sartell ousted them.
Grimm knows the postseason is not only tough, but also unpredictable.
"It's why you coach," Grimm said with a smile. "When you see the look in the kids' eyes, that's why you do this. You spend the whole season building for the postseason. We don't take shortcuts along the way to get some wins. Maybe that cost us a win or two ... and I don't know if we're completely ready for the postseason, but we're pretty close."
If Grimm is in search of any reminders after the postseason begins, Garrison's eyes will drive the point home.
"It would mean everything to me," Garrison said of making it to state. " I grew up playing with these guys since I was 5 years old. To go all the way to state, it's the biggest dream."
Hermantown 2, Bemidji 1
HRM 001 100 0 — 2-8-4
BHS 001 000 0 — 1-3-0
WP: Evanson (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K)
LP: Zellmann (4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)
S: Bostrom (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
Bemidji 10, Hermantown 0 (F/5)
HRM 000 00 — 0-5-2
BHS 130 15 — 10-9-0
WP: Brodina (5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)
LP: McCubbin (2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)
Continue reading...
