The Brotherhood of Twelve

May 14, 2012 by Sam Hurst

With my camera pushed tight against the screen at Jamie Johnson Field, I feel like I have taken this photograph before. Justin Kraemer, his right leg lifted into the air by the sheer momentum of Archimedes, one of the great iconic poses of the modern athlete–the pitcher, as ballerino, at the moment of release.

I took it last June, when the Harney Athletics played the Patriots on the Southside. I took it last July, when the Athletics played the Bankers in the city championship. Seems like every time I showed up at a Little League field, Kraemer was spinning off-speed junk at over-confident hitters. “Strike!” “What … how could that be?”

 I took the same photograph in Indianapolis, when Harney Nation beat Grandview, Iowa. And … in one of the great moments in Rapid City sports history, I took it in Williamsport, Pa. when Justin, dressed in the orange and green of the Midwest champions, pitched against powerhouse Warner Robins, Ga. in front of 30,000 people and a pub full of family in Oneida.

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Chleborad’s Climb to No. 1

May 11, 2012 by Jake Nordbye

Lights in the lecture hall have been turned out, finals are over, and the kids in the dorm room next door have moved out for the summer. But the Washington State Cougars baseball team is fighting for a place in the postseason in one of the toughest conferences in college baseball.

From top to bottom, the Pac-12 is stacked. Washington State’s schedule is filled with baseball powerhouses such as Oregon, UCLA, Arizona, Stanford and Arizona State. Take a night off, boot a ball at the wrong time, leave a pitch up in a tight ball game, and it could be the difference between playing in the postseason and clearing out your locker until next year.

Last week – sitting on the bubble of the 64-team field for the NCAA baseball tournament – the Cougars entered a critical three-game series against the California Golden Bears. They had just lost their Friday and Saturday night starters to injuries.

Head coach Donnie Marbut turned to a lanky, true freshman from the heartland.

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Post 22: Lees and Wickham Looking to Build on New Found Confidence

May 7, 2012 by Sam Hurst

BILLINGS – Post 22 head coach Mitch Messer peeled a few more layers of the onion on Sunday afternoon in Billings, revealing more about his style of coaching and his expectations of player performance. Rapid City continued to hit the ball hard, and split its doubleheader with a 7-5 loss to the Scarlets in the morning game, and an 11-1 blowout victory in the afternoon.

Ryne Lees, playing relaxed and confident, had a solid day at the plate with four hits between the two games including a scorching triple into the right field corner in the fourth inning of the second game.

Lees was also dominant on the mound in the second game, giving up four hits and one run over four innings. All day long Lees flashed the athleticism and potential that Rapid City coaches have been trying to spark into a fire for the last two years.

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Messer Era Begins at Post 22

May 6, 2012 by Sam Hurst

Hardhats split Opening Day doubleheader with Billings Scarlets

 

BILLINGS — The faint of heart can blame it on new head coach Mitch Messer. He’s been honest from the day he was selected back in October. For all that is new about the approach Messer has brought to Post 22, one tradition from the Dave Ploof era has stayed the same.

“To be the best … play the best.”

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