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Projected lineup, notes and stats for Devils Lake ahead of Legion A state tournament

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By Mojo Hill, DLJ Sports Editor
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The Devils Lake Storm A team poses after winning the Class A East championship at Starion Bank Field in Fargo. Back row (left to right): Lakin Ronningen, Taydon Triepke, Hunter Remmick, Ben Brodina, Landon Sundeen, Mason Palmer, Fausten Olson, Will Heilman, Alex Hammond. Front row (left to right): Tayven Wiberg, Brody Rainsberry, Max Palmer, Ben Larson, Cayden McCarthy. Photo courtesy of Christa Brodina

The Devils Lake Storm A team poses after winning the Class A East championship at Starion Bank Field in Fargo.

Back row (left to right): Lakin Ronningen, Taydon Triepke, Hunter Remmick, Ben Brodina, Landon Sundeen, Mason Palmer, Fausten Olson, Will Heilman, Alex Hammond.

Front row (left to right): Tayven Wiberg, Brody Rainsberry, Max Palmer, Ben Larson, Cayden McCarthy.

Photo courtesy of Christa Brodina

Here is the squad that will represent Devils Lake in the Class A Legion state tournament from July 30 through August 3.

Lineups vary from game to game, but this is a rough sketch of what to expect.

Note: The stats in this article are tracked unofficially by the Journal.

Projected starting lineup

  1. RF Taydon Triepke (.366 AVG, .490 OBP, .476 SLG, .966 OPS)
  2. 2B Max Palmer (.326 AVG, .444 OBP, .384 SLG, .828 OPS)
  3. SS Mason Palmer (.425 AVG, .480 OBP, .805 SLG, 1.285 OPS)
  4. P Will Heilman (.354 AVG, .458 OBP, .573 SLG, 1.031 OPS)
  5. CF Fausten Olson (.264 AVG, .400 OBP, .283 SLG, .683 OPS)
  6. 3B Ben Larson (.446 AVG, .576 OBP, .716 SLG, 1.292 OPS)
  7. LF Brody Rainsberry (.414 AVG, .521 OBP, .517 SLG, 1.038 OPS)
  8. 1B Hunter Remmick (.345 AVG, .417 OBP, .425 SLG, .843 OPS)
  9. C Ben Brodina (.383 AVG, .466 OBP, .532 SLG, .997 OPS)

Positional reserves

  • UTL Tayven Wiberg (.317 AVG, .388 OBP, .433 SLG, .821 OPS)
  • CF Alex Hammond (.242 AVG, .333 OBP, .273 SLG, .606 OPS)
  • 1B/OF Cayden McCarthy (.250 AVG, .377 OBP, .341 SLG, .718 OPS)
  • 1B/DH Landon Sundeen (.243 AVG, .383 OBP, .351 SLG, .734 OPS)
  • UTL Lakin Ronningen (.250 AVG, .385 OBP, .281 SLG, .666 OPS)

Lineup notes

Will Heilman and Ben Brodina will share most of the catching duties. Ben Larson can also fill in when needed.

Heilman has 118 plate appearances this summer, the most of any Devils Lake player. He also leads the team in doubles with 13.

Max Palmer leads the team in walks with 19, while Heilman and Taydon Triepke are tied for second with 18 each.

Mason Palmer leads the team in hits (37), home runs (six) and RBIs (30).

Larson narrowly has the team lead in OPS (1.292) over Mason Palmer (1.285).

Larson has eight doubles, while Triepke, Hunter Remmick and Mason Palmer each have seven. Larson has been hit by a team-high 12 pitches — more than his number of strikeouts (10).

Devils Lake has hit 16 home runs as a team.

Ben Brodina was the team’s leadoff hitter for a large portion of the season but missed some time due to travel basketball. Tayven Wiberg has gotten more playing time lately and may start some games in left field, depending on the lineup configuration. Wiberg has more plate appearances this summer than Brodina, 67 to 58. Brodina and Wiberg have each hit one home run.

Fausten Olson and Alex Hammond have largely shared center field duties, though Olson has gotten more playing time lately. Both are standout defenders.

Projected pitching rotation

  • RHP Will Heilman (1.13 ERA, 8.3 SO/9, 1.8 BB/9, 40 IP)
  • RHP Mason Palmer (0.45 ERA, 16.2 SO/9, 2.3 BB/9, 20 IP)
  • RHP Cayden McCarthy (2.68 ERA, 9.5 SO/9, 4.9 BB/9, 37 IP)
  • RHP Ben Larson (4.70 ERA, 7.6 SO/9, 4.4 BB/9, 30 2/3 IP)
  • RHP Brody Rainsberry (5.40 ERA, 10.8 SO/9, 4.5 BB/9, 20 IP)
  • RHP Tayven Wiberg (4.79 ERA, 7.8 SO/9, 3.5 BB/9, 20 2/3 IP)
  • RHP Hunter Remmick (5.40 ERA, 10 SO/9, 3.9 BB/9, 11 2/3 IP)

Other pitchers

  • LHP Taydon Triepke (11.70 ERA, 7.2 SO/9, 8.1 BB/9, 10 IP)
  • RHP Ben Brodina (14.30 ERA, 5.6 SO/9, 7.1 BB/9, 11 1/3 IP)
  • RHP Max Palmer (5.63 ERA, 2.3 SO/9, 1.3 BB/9, 8 IP)
  • RHP Lakin Ronningen (10.29 ERA, 7.7 SO/9, 12.9 BB/9, 7 IP)
  • RHP Fausten Olson (0.00 ERA, 27 SO/9, 0 BB/9, 1/3 IP)

Pitching notes

Devils Lake’s strategy with its pitching usage will be something to follow. To win the tournament, the Storm will need to use at least five starting pitchers, potentially six.

A fully healthy Hunter Remmick is one of their best pitchers, but he’s been dealing with a shoulder issue. He did throw 66 pitches over 4 2/3 innings on July 15 against Mayville/Portland, however his level of availability for this tournament is unclear.

Mason Palmer is Devils Lake’s most dominant starting pitcher. He dealt with elbow pain earlier this month but has since come back to make two fantastic starts with little to no issue.

Palmer threw a perfect game in the 2025 Legion state tournament. Over the past three seasons (summer 2026, spring 2026 and summer 2025), he’s thrown 76 innings with a sparkling 1.18 ERA and 13.4 SO/9. He’s allowed just 33 hits in that span, an average of under four per nine innings.

The start he makes in this tournament will be the last of his high school and Legion career before going off to Jamestown.

Regarding some of the other pitchers: Taydon Triepke, Ben Brodina and Max Palmer have all posted better stats in past seasons. Most of the damage on their lines came early this summer.

Tayven Wiberg had a 2.29 ERA in 19 2/3 innings, mostly as a starter, before a relief appearance against Park River ballooned his stats (in a game that Devils Lake ended up winning).