Lancers Get Their Groove Back

At least for a weekend, the Mount Marty College baseball team looked like the team coach Andy Bernatow was confident in when the season began in February.

MMC has won five straight — the longest active streak in the Great Plains Athletic Conference — after its sweeps of Hastings Saturday and then-second place Nebraska Wesleyan Sunday (NWU is now in third).

All three elements of the game stepped up in this weekend’s 4-0 home weekend.

On the mound, the Lancers allowed nine runs in four games, with seven of those runs coming in Sunday’s second game. The 2.70 earned run average the team posted on the weekend was bolstered by eight shutout innings from the bullpen — three by Jason Schmidt Saturday and five by Josh Cleveland Sunday. The pair combined to allow two hits and struck out seven.

At the plate, the Lancers bat .361 over the weekend — nearly 80 points better than the season average coming in (.284) — with an even bigger leap in slugging percentage. MMC hit three home runs this weekend — two from slugger Jason Schmidt and Derrik Nelson’s first career homer — and had 10 doubles. (The power numbers may have been aided by a couple of typically windy spring days, with the wind blowing out each day.)

Defensively, the Lancers had just two errors in four games, after averaging a less than stellar 1.3 errors per game coming in. Only one of the team’s 10 runs allowed this weekend was unearned, while they had allowed 28 unearned runs in 39 games coming in.

MMC still has work to do to get to where they’d like to be. At 8-8 with four games to play, a conference regular season title is out of reach (Doane is 13-3) but a high seed in the GPAC tourney would give the Lancers a chance to make a run in the post-season tournament, May 3-5 in Lincoln, Neb.

If the Lancers are going to make a splash at Haymarket Park, the home of the University of Nebraska baseball team and the centerpiece of the GPAC baseball tourney this year, they are going to have to continue doing it all — pitching, hitting and fielding — like they did to get themselves back on track.

My South Dakota State High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament Picks

As I was enjoying some leftover homemade turkey chili at my desk, I realized that I hadn’t shared how I thought the S.D. State Boys’ Basketball Tournaments might go. So, here goes …

CLASS B

FIRST ROUND: White River over Castlewood, Sully Buttes over Dupree, Langford over Hanson, Viborg-Hurley over Wolsey-Wessington

SEMIFINALS: White River over Sully Buttes, Viborg-Hurley over Langford

FINAL: Viborg-Hurley over White River (Zach Kraning went down in the first meeting, and I think he could be a deciding factor.)

REST OF THE PLACES: 3, Langford; 4, Sully Buttes; 5, Hanson; 6, Castlewood; 7, Wolsey-Wessington; 8, Dupree

CLASS A

FIRST ROUND: St. Thomas More over Tri-Valley; Winner over Dell Rapids; Roncalli over Chamberlain; Dakota Valley over Clark-Willow Lake

SEMIFINALS: St. Thomas More over Winner; Dakota Valley over Roncalli

FINALS: St. Thomas More over Dakota Valley

OTHER PLACES: 3, Winner; 4, Roncalli; 5, Dell Rapids; 6, Chamberlain; 7, Tri-Valley; 8, Clark-Willow Lake

CLASS AA

FIRST ROUND: O’Gorman over RC Central; Brookings over Washington; Mitchell over Roosevelt; Pierre over Huron

SEMIFINALS: Brookings over O’Gorman; Pierre over Mitchell

FINALS: Pierre over Brookings

OTHER PLACES: 3, Mitchell; 4, O’Gorman; 5, Washington; 6, Huron; 7, Roosevelt; 8, RC Central

Like my picks? Hate them? Think I’m full of it? Comment here or tweet at me @Aceman904

Parkston’s Van Laecken Relaxed As His Team Prepares For Its First State Title Appearance

Parkston head coach Rob Van Laecken might be getting a little more comfortable that the attention his team’s berth in the championship of the South Dakota State Class A Girls’ Basketball Tournament is affording him.

After his standard “you don’t need to talk to me,” response, he opened up a little — and even had some fun with the media.

Parkston head girls' basketball coach Rob Van Laecken kneels in front of his team's bench during the Lady Trojans' semifinal victory over Miller on Friday.

Van Laecken started telling the gathered media about a team camp the team took at the University of Notre Dame, the one where they got the “Play Like A Champion Today” T-shirts the team wore for warm-ups before Friday night’s 72-71 victory over Miller. He then stopped himself and said, “I’ll tell you that one tomorrow night.”

The team continued its confident play in pressure situations, surviving a Miller flurry to win in the closing seconds. Now only top-seeded and de facto home team St. Thomas More stands between the Lady Trojans and their first-ever state basketball title.

STM beat Parkston 58-38 at the Parkston Classic in December. But standout Marie Malloy pointed out that the Lady Trojans have already earned vengeance on one foe this post-season.

“We got our revenge on Wagner,” she said. Wagner, which was unbeaten prior to Parkston’s come-from-behind win in the District 10A final, had beaten the Lady Trojans by 10 in January. “Hopefully we can get our revenge on St. Thomas More.”

FRIDAY’S STARS

Chynna Stevens, Clark-Willow Lake: Posted 22 points, 14 rebounds in a loss to Pine Ridge.

Caitlin Duffy, St. Thomas More: Posted 17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists in win over Elkton-Lake Benton.

Marie Malloy, Parkston: Had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals in win over Miller.

Alexis Watts, Miller: Had 21 points, 14 rebounds in loss to Parkston.

FRIDAY’S STAT LEADERS

POINTS: Marie Malloy, Parkston 24; Chynna Stevens, CWL 22; Anissa Martin, Pine Ridge 21; Alexis Watts, Miller 21; Erica Herrold, Parkston 19

REBOUNDS: Chynna Stevens CWL 14, Alexis Watts, Miller 14; Caitlin Duffy, STM 11; Megan Krogman, ELB 10; Tara Parmely, Miller 9; Jansen Hunter, Miller 8; Jordyn Kirk, Sisseton 8

ASSISTS: Janelle Paulson CWL 6, Tara Parmely, Miller 5; Hallie Fulton, Miller 4; Mallory Fischer, Miller 4; Brooke Pond, Pine Ridge 4; Santana White Dress, Pine Ridge 4

TOURNAMENT LEADERS

SCORING: Marie Malloy, Parkston 25.5 ppg; Caitlin Duffy, STM 22.5; Alexis Watts, Miller 20.5; Mackenzie Huber, CWL 17; Erica Herrold, Parkston 16.5

REBOUNDS: Chynna Stevens, CWL 13.5; Marie Malloy, Parkston 10.5; Caitlin Duffy, STM 9.0; Alexis Watts, Miller 9.0; Erica Herrold, Parkston 7.5

ASSISTS: Mallory Fischer, Miller 6 apg; Caitlin Duffy, STM 4.5; Tara Parmely, Miller 4.5; Janelle Paulson, CWL 4.0; Brooke Pond, Pine Ridge 3.5

Class A Day 1: Parkston’s Van Laecken Not Interested In Spotlight

SPEARFISH — As media members huddled around his star player, Parkston girls’ basketball coach Rob Van Laecken tried to slip out of the fray.

Parkston players and fans celebrate after the Lady Trojans beat Sisseton 61-60 on Thursday

“You don’t need to talk to me,” he said.

Searching out the spotlight has never been for Van Laecken, the state’s all-time winningest girls’ basketball coach — now with 569 victories. Even when he passed the late Fred Tibbetts earlier this season, he didn’t seek the attention he so richly deserved.

The game-winner came off the hands of Parkston’s Marie Malloy, who overcame her struggles from the line on the day to finish with 27 points and 13 rebounds.

“It showed a lot of guts on her part,” Van Laecken said of the game-winner.

Vermillion’s story on Thursday did not have as happy an ending. The Tanagers ran into the wall that is the Miller Rustlers, a team that starts three six-footers.

“We tried to get them to shoot 15-footers and they did,” Vermillion head coach Nick Mayer said. “They’re 21-2, and that record is well-deserved.”

Miller is now Parkston’s next challenge as the Lady Trojans shoot for what would be Parkston’s — and Van Laecken’s — first state title. The other semifinal features St. Thomas More against Elkton-Lake Benton.

Vermillion looks to bounce back against Sisseton. Pine Ridge and Clark-Willow Lake play the other semifinal.

NOTES

• Parkston was the only low seed to win on the opening day of the State A.
• The 61-60 victory over defending state champion Sisseton might have been one of the biggest in terms of coaching victories the State A Tournament has seen. Sisseton’s Cal Schubert ranks fifth among active coaches with 333 victories.
• Press & Dakotan photos from the state A tourney are available here.

THURSDAY’S STARS

Marie Malloy, Parkston: Went coast to coast for a game-winning layup with 1 seconds left in a win over defending champion Sisseton. Finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds.

Caitlin Duffy, St. Thomas More: Scored 28 points, including 15-16 from the line, and had 7 rebounds and 6 assists in win over Pine Ridge.

Mackenzie Huber, Clark-Willow Lake: Scored 22 points in a losing effort against Elkton-Lake Benton.

Mallory Fischer, Miller: Finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists in win over Vermillion.

THURSDAY’S LEADERS

SCORING: Caitlin Duffy, STM 28; Marie Malloy, Parkston 27; Mackenzie Huber, CWL 22; Alexis Watts, Miller 20; Alexys Swedlund, STM 17

REBOUNDS: Chynna Stevens CWL 13; Marie Malloy, Parkston 13; Macy Toelle, Sisseton 12; Erica Herrold, Parkston 9; Mallory Fischer, Miller 8

ASSISTS: Mallory Fischer, Miller 8; Caitlin Duffy STM 6; Megan Krogman ELB 5; Madison Kirsch, STM 5; Cassidy Gebhart ELB 4; Blair Gilkyson, Vermillion 4; Tara Parmely, Miller 4; Shelby Greeley, Sisseton 4

South Dakota State, Western Illinois Set For Summit League Men’s Basketball Final

Nate Wolters #3 from South Dakota State University drives on Ray Jones, Jr. #5 from Southern Utah University during their semi-final game at the 2012 Summit League Basketball Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D. Monday. (Photo by Dick Carlson/Inertia)

Don’t ask South Dakota State men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy about whether he feels good that his second-seeded Jackrabbits are facing fourth-seeded Western Illinois, rather than top-seeded Oral Roberts, in today’s Summit League Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game.

“(Western Illinois head coach) Jim (Molinari) has done an unbelievable job. And, he has got a lot better players now. He is coaching the way he wants to coach now,” he said after Tuesday’s semifinal win over Southern Utah.

SDSU guard Nate Wolters compared the Leathernecks to SUU, a team that gave the Jackrabbits fits for the first 20 minutes Tuesday.

“They are a lot like Southern Utah. They are really good defensively and well-coached,” he said. “So, it should be a fun game and one of the games you want to play. It should be a lot of fun.”

The junior guard has thrown his hat in the ring for tournament MVP, following up his 22-point opening round performance with a 31-pointer in the semis. He has also had seven rebounds and six assists in each of the two tourney games.

Jordan Dykstra has posted 12.5 points a game in the two games, with Brayden Carlson (8.5 ppg), Tony Fiegen (7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.5 apg) and Griffan Callahan (5.5 ppg) rounding out the Jacks’ first five.

Taevaunn Prince (6 ppg) has provided the most offensive support off the bench, including a 10-point effort in the Jacks’ opening round win over IUPUI. Several others have contributed minutes off the bench, but SDSU had just two points of reserve scoring against SUU.

Terell Parks has led Western Illinois in the tournament. After posting 13 points and 11 rebounds against North Dakota State, the final two of his team-high 14 points proved to be the game-winner in the Leathernecks’ upset of ORU.

“I just back them down and gave them my signature move and shot it,” Parks said of the game-winner. “I thought I got hit on the elbow but it still went in.”

Obi Emegano has also averaged 13.5 points per game in the tournament, notching 19 against NDSU. Ceola Clark (12 ppg) and Jack Houpt (9 ppg) have also been steady contributors this week. Tommie Tyler (2.5 ppg) has been a solid worker at guard, rounding out the Leathernecks’ first five.

WIU last made the league final in 1997, and won its only tournament title in 1984, before the league had an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Leathernecks made ORU the first 1-seed to miss the title tilt since 1993.

The winner of tonight’s 8 p.m. contest will be appearing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament.

Press & Dakotan Assistant Sports Editor Jeremy Hoeck (@jhoeck) will be at the tournament covering the game. Follow him on Twitter to receive updates.