Shanley BSB Captures First State Title Since 2013
SHANLEY'S SENIOR CLASS SUFFERED TWO STATE TITLE GAME DEFEATS, BUT END THEIR CAREERS AS CHAMPS.
DICKINSON, N.D. (KVRR)–The Shanley Deacons won their first title in Class A baseball since 2013. The Deacons had lost in the title game twice in the last four years, but this season was theirs for the taking. Shanley defeated Fargo Davies in a thriller in the semifinals and then capped it off with an 11 to 6 win in the title game over the West 1-seed Bismarck Legacy.
Senior Jordan Leininger shares what this state title means to him and his team.
“It was almost like a sigh of relief,” said Leininger. “Most of us have been in that position twice now, on the losing end. So, it was fun to finally get one of our own. There is that saying that ‘failure is the best teacher’. I guess we are the best students of that because we had to go through it twice. We have a lot of experience and we knew what it took to get it done.”
The completed the Eastern Dakota Conference with an 11-0 record in points. They preceded to win the EDC tournament by way of that regular season success.
In the State Tournament, Shanley defeated Williston 6 to 4. In the Semifinals, the Deacons were down majority of the game, but scored late to win via a walk-off by Sam Ovsak. Shanley finished the job in the Championship taking a big lead early and never looking back.
The Deacons graduate Eight seniors.
