Norse Post-Season Ends; DCTC Wins Sub-Regional
Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear interviews with Grant Craft, Carlos Velarde, and Norse Manager Mike Pankow.
ESCANABA---The Dakota County Technical College Blue Knights won the NJCAA Region 13 East Sub-regional championship on Friday, beating the Bay College Norse, 20-10, to take the Best-of-Seven series, four games to one.
The Norse had kept their playoff season going earlier in the day with a 11-7 win over DCTC, the first-ever Bay win over the Blue Knights after 19 straight losses.
DCTC had won the first three games in the series two weeks ago in Minnesota, with two of those games (2-0 and 2-1) going down to the wire.
“This is a great group of guys,” Bay College Manager Mike Pankow said. “I really enjoy this group. We talked about how I feel that they've underachieved, I thought we were a better team than what our record (7-27) shows this year. But it's very important to me that these guys come out (Saturday) and enjoy their last day together.”
In Saturday's first game, some of Bay's international players came through to help lead the Norse to their fourth win on the homestand. But it wasn't easy as Norse pitcher Nick Goebert of Germany got into a 4-0 hole in the first inning, with Elijah Stifter and Stephen Weber both getting RBI doubles during that rally.
But in the bottom of the first, the Norse bounced back with four runs of their own off DCTC Allex Ege.
Hector Araguayan, Dante Sartorelli, and Dalton Graham singled to start the inning, then Xavier Whittle cane through with a two-run single. Sam Kiiskila grounded out to bring home another run, and Drake Forrest lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4.
Bay took a 5-4 lead on an RBI single by Graham in the second inning, but DCTC tied it up in the third inning when Diego Waisanen lifted a solo home run into the jet stream, with a 20-mile-per-hour wind blowing out to left-center field.
The Norse bounced back in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking advantage of two hit battsmen, the last of which off of Whittle's back with the bases loaded. That forced home the go-ahead run, and then Craft smoked a bases-clearing double to left field, bringing home three runs to build a 9-5 lead.
“I missed the last two pitches before that one, so I got lucky there,” Craft said. “We are a pretty resilient team. Our record won't show it. But we always keep in games. We should probably have a better record than we do.”
Two walks, an error, and a groundout brought two runs home for DCTC in the fifth inning to close the Blue Knights to within 9-7 in the fifth inning,
The Norse got those back in the sixth inning when Craft crushed a long two-run homer to left field, making for five RBI in the game for the Australian outfielder.
“He threw a slider and it just hung too much, so I put it over,” Craft said. “Like 320 (feet) to left-center is just perfect, so you definitely want to put it over!”
That was plenty of runs for Carlos Velarde, who relieved Goebert on the mound. The right hander from Panama retired all six men he faced to earn the save.
“The coaches had confidence in me and I came here and did my job,” Velarde said. “It is my first save ever in college baseball. Coach told me that if Nick had trouble that I would come in. Nick was throwing the fastball and coach told me to throw junk and the slider. This is my first semester and I have been trying to get here since 2019. I finally got my opportunity.”
Goebert went five innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits. He struck out seven and walked two. Ege went the distance for DCTC and took the loss, allowing eleven runs (ten earned) on eleven hits.
That win kept the season going for Bay. In the second game, each team scored a run in the first inning as Pickford's Matt Bush pitched against DCTC's Brandon Gerster,
But things fell apart for the Norse in the second inning, when DCTC went to “small ball” and Bay couldn't handle the bunt. One by #9 hitter Seth Goplin ended up scoring two runs, and then the only hit out of the infield, a rocket to right field by Stifter scored two more runs. DCTC carried a 6-1 into the third inning.
It didn't get any better for Bay. Another bunt single by Garrett Miehoffer and a hit battsmen ended Bush's day on the mound. Velarde came in to pitch, but this time, his mixture of junk pitches didn't work. He gave up a two-run double by Goplin, and RBI doubles from Tyler Steimer and another RBI double from Waisanen.
Bay trailed, 12-1, after that inning, and in the third inning, Riley McElfresh was brought in to pitch. He also struggled, walking two batters, hitting another, and giving up a two-run single to Steimer. That made it 14-1, and the bases were still loaded for DCTC.
Gladstone's Jared Crow came in to pitch, and got two strikeouts to stop the bleeding.
Bay got two runs back in the fourth inning on four hits, including an RBI single from Drake Forrest, and a bases-loaded walk to Parker Maki. But the Norse stranded the bases loaded when Araguyan popped up to end the inning at 14-3.
Bay continued to come back against relief pitcher Garrett Boblitt, who struggled with multiple walks and wild pitches. Sam Kiiskila had an RBI single during that fifth inning, Forrest had another RBI single, and Maki brought one home with a groundout.
All of a sudden, Bay was within 14-8 heading to the sixth inning.
But DCTC finally got to Crow, scoring two runs against him in the sixth inning, one of them on a Steimer double. Steimer had five hits in the game for the Blue Knights.
Craft brought Bay to within 16-9 in the bottom of the inning with a sac fly, but the Norse could not take advantage of three more walks, stranding the bases loaded again.
DCTC put four more runs on the board in the top of the seventh, with Gunnar Benson bringing in two of them with a line drive single. Bay's final run came in on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh, and the Norse playoff run was officially over.
“They put some things together and kind of took control,” Pankow said. “But our guys kept fighting after that, though. We cut it back to a doable number (within 14-8). But then it got a little ugly from there. We kicked it around a bit and they found some holes, man. No excuses. This game, they played better than us, and that's why they're going to the regional tournament next week.”
Goplan had two doubles and two singles in his five at-bats, and the only time he was kept off base was in the fourth inning when Forrest made a diving catch in center field.
Whittle had three hits and walked once for the Norse.
DCTC improved to 9-14 on the season, with four of the wins coming over Bay.
The Norse fell to 7-27 on the season.
There will be two more games on Saturday in Escanaba, at noon and 2:30 ET. Those games will end the season for Bay, and will send DCTC off into the regionals.
“It's not going to be just 'who cares',” Pankow said. “They know that they can beat this team, and they have pride. They want to come out and put on a good showing, and we have some good pitchers left (Austin Burnside and Dalton Graham). We want to enjoy our time together one more time and play some good baseball.”
Both games will be broadcast on FM-93.5 and AM-600 in Escanaba, and on AM-1450 in Iron Mountain, as well as on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
