DEVILS LAKE — Beau Brodina stood near home plate after the game, posing for pictures with friends while taking in his surroundings.
It started to hit him that this was his last baseball game in Devils Lake.
“I’ve been playing here for almost 10 years now,” Brodina said. “And it’s gonna be weird coming here and just watching games now, and not playing. So it’s gonna be different. But that’s how life is. And it’s gonna be sad once the time comes, but it’s definitely a special moment to play here.”
Brodina played baseball, basketball and football for Devils Lake High School, graduating in 2024. For the last two years, he’s played for his hometown Lake Region State College baseball team. LRSC plays at DLYA Field, the same field that the Firebirds play on.
The oldest of four siblings, Brodina was the first of the group to play a college sport and will be the first to graduate when he completes his time at LRSC here shortly.
“I’m just gonna think about all the memories and special moments I’ve had with my teammates,” Brodina said. “I’ve had a lot of good teammates play with me on this field, and I played with a lot of them for five-plus years. So just looking back on that, and all the friendships I made on this field, is very special to me.”
On Wednesday, he got one last game at DLYA Field.
The Royals, after completing their conference schedule, hosted an exhibition contest against the University of North Dakota club team to complete their regular season. It was Sophomore Night, where Brodina was honored along with the nine other LRSC sophomore baseball players.
The all-sophomore lineup united to beat UND 10-5.
“It was definitely loose,” Brodina said. “And just trying to have some fun with it. It’s my last game here ever on this field. So it was kind of special just to let loose for a game and have fun like I was a little kid.”
Brodina batted in his classic spot: leadoff. He ignited a two-run rally in the first inning with a simple single up the middle. He walked in his next two plate appearances as LRSC stormed ahead in the fourth inning.
Brodina improved his OBP to .431. That ranks in the top 20 of the Mon-Dak Athletic Conference.
“I’m just trying not to do too much,” Brodina said. “Just really focus on staying up the middle and going the other way, because I’m not a home run hitter or a long-ball hitter. So just trying to do whatever I can for the team, try and get on any way possible. And so far, it’s been working.”
LRSC head coach Steve Anderson noted that Brodina has played in every game for the Royals this season.
He hit .292 with a .420 OBP in 83 plate appearances as a freshman. This year, he’s increased his output to 160 plate appearances.
“Which is big-time, to play in all 47 games,” Anderson said. “He’s so good at finding ways on base, whether that’s driving a ball into the gap, or an infield single, beating it out. And then obviously he’s a threat on the basepaths, which is awesome. But he’s just consistent, and he understands what his job is, and he executes so well. He’s been an awesome piece for us.”
Brodina has always been a strong on-base threat. He had an OBP approaching .500 in his last season of Legion ball for the Devils Lake Storm. It was .444 in his senior baseball season.
“That’s how I was in high school, too,” Brodina said of his on-base prowess. “I was the leadoff hitter in high school, and I’m a leadoff or second hitter in college. And I’ve just got to find my way on and let guys do their things, because I have a lot of speed and I can use that on the basepaths. And that’s just how I’ve played my whole life.”
A fun bonus of Sophomore Night was that a different sophomore pitched every inning: including Brodina in the sixth. Brodina is primarily an outfielder, but he got a chance to dust off the arsenal on Wednesday.
He allowed a leadoff double that came around to score.
But he retired the next three hitters, including a called strikeout to cap his outing. Brodina threw 10 of his 18 pitches for strikes.
“I don’t really get to pitch that often,” Brodina said. “So it was kind of a cool moment to get in one last inning on this field. It was pretty awesome.”
All in all, Brodina has adapted well to the college level.
There’s also the travel aspect, which is a bit different than high school. The college season starts and ends earlier than the high school season. The Royals go on a long road trip to Florida at the beginning of each season, and many of their conference games are in Montana or Williston.
The late-arriving spring weather made the travel schedule even more rigorous this year, with LRSC not playing a home game until April 22.
That means a lot of time on a bus.
“We definitely get along very well because we’re together for so long,” Brodina said. “It sucks that we don’t get too many home games because of the weather. But that’s the special thing about college, is you’re with all the guys all the time, so you bond with each other. You get along very well and make close friends that way.”
At times, this year has been a challenge. The Royals, while they still hadn’t played at home yet, lost 12 games in a row from March 29 to April 20.
Brodina was part of the team that set the program record for conference wins at 11. This season took a step back, with a 5-14 conference mark.
But LRSC is heading into the playoffs with some rejuvenated energy. The Royals won their last four games of the regular season, including their last three conference games.
“I think the mindset is just keep having fun,” Brodina said. “These last four games that we’ve won, we’ve just had fun. Just forget about all the little things and just have fun, like it was when we were 12. Have fun. We’ve lost a lot of games, and I think a lot of the guys on the team just lost the fun in the game. And I think now that we have that back, it’s very good because everyone’s got their confidence back. So hopefully we can carry that into postseason and let that carry on.”
This weekend, LRSC will try to win its first playoff series in program history when it faces Miles Community College in Miles City, Mont.
If the Royals win, they’ll keep playing.
If they lose, that’ll be it for Brodina’s LRSC career, and for the other nine sophomores.
As for what’s next, Brodina is still undecided. He said he’s talking to a couple of colleges about playing baseball, but is yet to commit.
Regardless of his next venture, one major era came to an end Wednesday.
“So we’ll see what happens,” Brodina said.
Leave a Reply