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May 28—JAMESTOWN — It has been eight years since the Velva-Drake/Anamoose baseball team has been to a state tournament.
"We've had good teams but we just haven't been able to take that next step," head coach Matt Weidler said.
The Aggies took that next step on Thursday.
Weidler and company pulled together to defeat LaMoure/Litchville-Marion/Edgeley 10-6 in the opening round of the 2026 NDHSAA Class B State Baseball Tournament. Velva-Drake/Anamoose will advance to Friday's semifinal round where they will face top-ranked Kindred. The semifinal is scheduled to begin at approximately 7 p.m. at Jamestown's Jack Brown Stadium. LaMoure/Litchville-Marion will face Des Lacs-Burlington in Friday's second consolation semifinal game.
While the Aggies were the lower seed, they played championship style baseball against the Loboes.
"I thought our kids were pretty relaxed," Weidler said. "Throughout the day they were loose, when we got here they were loose and it kind of showed when we were able to weather (LaMoure's) storm a little bit."
After a scoreless first inning, Velva got on the board on the first pitch of the second inning. Logan Vincent smacked the dinger over the right field fence to put his team up 1-0. The Aggies kept the pressure on the fourth-seeded Loboes with a pair of runs in the third inning to put them up 3-0 after 2.5 innings played.
"That was a big hit by Logan and it kind of got our guys going and if there was any tightness that loosened them up," Weidler said. "He's been hitting the ball well all year and we're going to need that to keep going."
LaMoure responded in the bottom of the third.
With bases loaded and no outs, Mason Warcken ripped one to left field to drive in two and make it 3-2. The Loboes scored the game tying run in the bottom of the fourth off a sac fly from Colby Thielges.
A tied ball game didn't seem to sit well with Velva. The Aggies popped off in the fifth scoring four to make it 7-3.
"Our guys have been super aggressive all year," Weidler said. "If they get a ball, I want them to hit it. That's kind of what we've done all year and it's good to see that the kids didn't change their approach at the plate today."
At the plate, Velva had three athletes hitting at least .6000. Vincent was 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs. Reese Steffen was 3-for-5 with one driven in Luke Selzler was hitting .750 with four runs driven in and a double.
Cooper Kittleson got the win with 6.1 innings tossed and five runs on seven hits. The bulldog walked three and retired six.
"Coop was good," Weidler said. "He's kind of the definition of a pitcher. He changes speeds, he locates, the calls he made were really good tonight and he got out of a couple of jams. He's been pretty steady for us all year and all of his career. He's a competitor and we got what we expected out of him."
Hopefully for Aggie fans, it's more of the same for the rest of the tournament.
"I am happy for our guys to get down here but they aren't satisfied," Weidler said. "They wanted to come down and represent their community and their school and their families. I thought they did a good job tonight and I am hoping we found out another way to get one tomorrow."
Velva-Drake/Anamoose 10, LaMoure/LM 6
V-D/A 012 040 0 — 10 13 3
LLM 002 100 3 — 6 8 3
V-D/A: Cooper Kittleson, Wesley Nickelson (7); LLM: Gunner Thielges, Easton Thielges (5) W — Kittleson. L — E. Thielges
Highlights: V-D/A — Cooper Kittleson (6.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K)1-5; Steffen 3-5, RBI; Vincent 3-5, 3 RBI, HR; Selzer 3-4, 4 RBI.
LLM — Brady Hanson 2-4, 2B; Mason Warcken 2-4, 2 RBI; Colin Barnick 1-4, RBI, 2B.
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"We've had good teams but we just haven't been able to take that next step," head coach Matt Weidler said.
The Aggies took that next step on Thursday.
Weidler and company pulled together to defeat LaMoure/Litchville-Marion/Edgeley 10-6 in the opening round of the 2026 NDHSAA Class B State Baseball Tournament. Velva-Drake/Anamoose will advance to Friday's semifinal round where they will face top-ranked Kindred. The semifinal is scheduled to begin at approximately 7 p.m. at Jamestown's Jack Brown Stadium. LaMoure/Litchville-Marion will face Des Lacs-Burlington in Friday's second consolation semifinal game.
While the Aggies were the lower seed, they played championship style baseball against the Loboes.
"I thought our kids were pretty relaxed," Weidler said. "Throughout the day they were loose, when we got here they were loose and it kind of showed when we were able to weather (LaMoure's) storm a little bit."
After a scoreless first inning, Velva got on the board on the first pitch of the second inning. Logan Vincent smacked the dinger over the right field fence to put his team up 1-0. The Aggies kept the pressure on the fourth-seeded Loboes with a pair of runs in the third inning to put them up 3-0 after 2.5 innings played.
"That was a big hit by Logan and it kind of got our guys going and if there was any tightness that loosened them up," Weidler said. "He's been hitting the ball well all year and we're going to need that to keep going."
LaMoure responded in the bottom of the third.
With bases loaded and no outs, Mason Warcken ripped one to left field to drive in two and make it 3-2. The Loboes scored the game tying run in the bottom of the fourth off a sac fly from Colby Thielges.
A tied ball game didn't seem to sit well with Velva. The Aggies popped off in the fifth scoring four to make it 7-3.
"Our guys have been super aggressive all year," Weidler said. "If they get a ball, I want them to hit it. That's kind of what we've done all year and it's good to see that the kids didn't change their approach at the plate today."
At the plate, Velva had three athletes hitting at least .6000. Vincent was 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs. Reese Steffen was 3-for-5 with one driven in Luke Selzler was hitting .750 with four runs driven in and a double.
Cooper Kittleson got the win with 6.1 innings tossed and five runs on seven hits. The bulldog walked three and retired six.
"Coop was good," Weidler said. "He's kind of the definition of a pitcher. He changes speeds, he locates, the calls he made were really good tonight and he got out of a couple of jams. He's been pretty steady for us all year and all of his career. He's a competitor and we got what we expected out of him."
Hopefully for Aggie fans, it's more of the same for the rest of the tournament.
"I am happy for our guys to get down here but they aren't satisfied," Weidler said. "They wanted to come down and represent their community and their school and their families. I thought they did a good job tonight and I am hoping we found out another way to get one tomorrow."
Velva-Drake/Anamoose 10, LaMoure/LM 6
V-D/A 012 040 0 — 10 13 3
LLM 002 100 3 — 6 8 3
V-D/A: Cooper Kittleson, Wesley Nickelson (7); LLM: Gunner Thielges, Easton Thielges (5) W — Kittleson. L — E. Thielges
Highlights: V-D/A — Cooper Kittleson (6.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K)1-5; Steffen 3-5, RBI; Vincent 3-5, 3 RBI, HR; Selzer 3-4, 4 RBI.
LLM — Brady Hanson 2-4, 2B; Mason Warcken 2-4, 2 RBI; Colin Barnick 1-4, RBI, 2B.
Continue reading...
