The LRSC baseball team at the end of hell week. (Submitted by Steve Anderson)
DEVILS LAKE — In the span of a few days, the Lake Region State College baseball team will go from shoveling snow in North Dakota to enjoying the sunny skies of Florida.
It was only Feb. 26, in one of the coldest places in the country. But an abrupt heat wave allowed the Royals to play outside in Devils Lake for the first time on Wednesday.
“I’m beyond thrilled to be outside,” LRSC first-year head coach Steve Anderson said. “I’d say we’re lucky to have this type of weather to get outside before we leave. Typically, Upper Midwest, you assume your first time going outside and seeing fly balls is gonna be when you travel somewhere.”
The Royals will be traveling somewhere: to Kansas and Florida, a road trip covering about half the month of March. But first, they used the unexpectedly nice N.D. weather to their advantage. Multiple Royals, including lifelong Devils Lake resident Simon Beach, showed up early on Wednesday to shovel some snow out of the way.
“This is fantastic. This is amazing,” Beach said. “We’ve never thought of even being outside on February 26.”
And with this refreshingly early start comes an LRSC team with a much different look to it than last year. Anderson, joined by fellow first-year assistant coach Tucker Salander, will lead a roster of 21 players this spring — 15 of whom are new.
“It’s been an awesome challenge,” Anderson said. “I’ve been lucky enough to have some great support in the athletic department. And more importantly, all of these guys on this roster are awesome. The six returning sophomores that were here last year have made it an absolutely seamless transition and made it pretty easy for me.”
Originally a native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Anderson was coaching high school ball in Minocqua, Wisconsin, before he got this job. He said he’d been wanting to move up to the college ranks for a while, so he applied to a few different positions.
Anderson has previously served as an operator instructor in the U.S. Army. He’s lived in states like Alaska, Colorado and Arizona.
“I don’t know if this has been the worst winter,” Anderson said, comparing his new home of Devils Lake to his previous stops. “There’s been some brutal cold stretches, but luckily we haven’t had a lot of snow. And I think that’s what makes winter the hardest when you’re involved in baseball, is snow. That’s your enemy… It’s different [in Devils Lake]. It’s a lot windier. And the wind chills are always brutal. But I’ve been to enough cold places where I’m kind of used to it.”
Anderson visited Devils Lake before he accepted the job at the end of last summer. He got a feel for the town, saw the LRSC campus and learned about the history of the program.
“Just wanted to be a part of that and take it somewhere special,” Anderson said.
And then Anderson was handed a roster, most of which was put together by the Royals’ previous coach, Laurence Arango. In his short time here already, he’s brought in transfers like Dane Hagler and Karsen Simon, along with getting the recruiting process for next year started.
When the players first heard they were getting a new coach, “there was a lot of worries right away,” said Jacob Warnke, one of the returning sophomores and team captains.
“But he stepped in right away,” Warnke said. “You could tell he’s a leader of men.”
Anderson has become involved in the school and community off the baseball field, too. He’s a regular presence at the ticket table at basketball games, and has even filled in as an assistant hockey coach and a basketball PA announcer.
“The first news was big, like ‘Oh, we’ve got a new coach,’” Beach said. “But he’s a great fit, man. I’ve talked to a lot of people in the community that have talked to him, and they know, too, that he’s a great add-on. And he really wants a change of face here. And he really wants to make the baseball program a respected program at the college, and start producing winning seasons and very elite baseball players.”
In the fall, the team played some scrimmages, then spent most of the winter practicing in a shed by the high school.
Now they’re finally seeing the light — literally.
“Compared to last year, the culture this year’s really good,” Warnke said. “We all get along really well. I think as a team and as a family, we bond a lot better than last year.”
They’re strengthened by the addition of Salander, the team’s new assistant coach. Last year’s team didn’t even have an official assistant coach. Salander is a Larimore native who played for LRSC from 2019-21.
“He is everything you could ask for in an assistant coach,” Anderson said. “He provides a ton of valuable insight. It’s awesome because he’s an alum; he played here. He’s a catcher, so he’s created an awesome connection with all of our catchers… He knows a lot about pitching, being a catcher, and so he’s helped our pitchers a lot, and it’s just awesome having him here. I think the guys love him… There’s times where it’s difficult to go to your head coach with certain things. But the guys know that he’s easy to talk to.”
LRSC also adds Marshel Herman, one of its best hitters from last season, in a coaching role.
Under Arango, the Royals went 10-32 last season, including 4-22 in conference play. But there’s an increased sense of ease and confidence surrounding everybody within the program, with so many new faces and a stronger leadership unit.
“Really looking forward to just winning, realistically,” Beach said. “This program hasn’t had a winning season in a long time, and it’d be great…to make a standpoint of ‘This is a place that you can go and compete and be a winner at.’”
Beach is joined by his Legion ball teammate from last summer, Beau Brodina, on the team this year. Beau is the oldest of Devils Lake’s four Brodina kids, the younger three of whom are still playing high school sports in town.
“Being around Beau is great,” Beach said. “Beau and I have always gotten along well. He was my quarterback my senior year of football, and he’s probably one of my best friends around here. It’s great to be playing with him again.”
Beach and Brodina were arguably the Devils Lake Storm’s best pitcher and hitter, respectively, last summer. Beach posted a 2.61 ERA. Brodina had an OBP approaching .500.
The duo makes up two of the five local kids on the team, with Hagler, Parker Simon and Karsen Simon coming from nearby Cando. There are nine North Dakotans in total out of the 21 players on the roster.
“It’s exciting to have some local guys on the team, too,” Anderson said, “to hopefully drum up some more local support and have some people out here cheering us on at the end of March for our first home game.”
The sophomore Beach also serves his community in a lot of other ways, whether it’s umpiring B games, reffing basketball or filling in on PA.
“I’ve created a good face for myself in this community, and the community has given a lot to me,” Beach said. “And being able to give back, and playing for the community and being a face of the college, it’s amazing for me. I love it.”
When it’s his day to pitch, Beach flips a switch and becomes a relentless competitor.
“Simon Beach is a gamer,” Anderson said. “He turns into an alter-ego when he’s on the mound, and it’s really fun to watch. He does not care who we’re playing. You could put him up against Mike Trout and Aaron Judge, and he’d say ‘Bring it on. Let’s go.’”
Beach only struck out 17 batters in 41 1/3 innings last summer, but he also walked just six. He threw more than two-thirds of his pitches for strikes and averaged about 11 pitches per inning. He was a beacon of consistency and durability. He got hit around more in his first taste against college hitters, but Anderson liked what he saw from him in fall scrimmages.
“He does a really good job of creating weak contact, and I think guys get frustrated in the box with that,” Anderson said. “He’s a key piece for us and one of our captains, and I’m excited that he’s here and to see what he can do.”
Brodina, on the hitting side, is all about patience at the plate. He has a solid left-handed stroke that’s maximized by his ability to work counts and swing at the right pitches. He’s one of three freshman outfielders on the roster.
“I love Beau. He’s a great kid,” Anderson said. “He’ll do anything you ask. He’s not a catcher, but if I asked him to catch, he’d suit up and he’d try to figure it out. He always works his butt off. And another thing with Beau is he has top-tier speed. He’s fast, and so he’s able to cover a lot of ground in the outfield, which is awesome defensively… I continue to remind him, even if he starts a game on the bench, he could be a huge piece for us in a close game as a pinch-runner or a defensive substitution. But he’s grown so much just from the fall, even.”
Some of the top returners include outfielders Tyler Kleinjan, a Bismarck native who batted .341 with a .453 OBP last year, and Hugh Montgomery, one of 10 Manitoba-born players on the team. Montgomery posted a .406 OBP for the Royals last season. Anderson expressed confidence in both of them moving on to four-year schools next year.
“I think [Kleinjan]’s primed to have an even better season this year with the lineup around him,” Anderson said. “He’s one of our captains, and he’ll play all over the place and do everything for us.”
Anderson expects Montgomery to be the everyday center fielder. Standing at 5-foot-8, Montgomery stole 15 bases last year, which was a single-season school record.
“I would not be surprised if he doubles that this year, especially with the type of baseball we’re trying to play,” Anderson said. “And he is just a menace defensively. I feel like anytime a ball goes up in center, he’s coming down with it.”
Anderson mentioned Lucas Lyons — one of four Winnipeg natives on the team — as an outfielder who will probably slot somewhere in the 2-4 holes in the lineup for LRSC. The 6-foot-4 Lyons is primarily a left-handed hitter but can also pitch from the right side.
“He has a ton of upside, and he’s been working really hard,” Anderson said. “So he’s somebody to keep an eye on.”
Warnke, a middle infielder, hit .261 with a .365 OBP on the team last year. He also got 22 innings on the mound.
“Just start hot,” Warnke said of his goal for this year. “Last year, I had a slow start. I think I was kind of nervous. But this year, I feel like there’s less pressure. This year, I feel like I’ll be able to let it go right away.”
Hagler, the most recent addition to the team, is likely to take the reins at the top of the rotation. The Cando native was a four-sport star for North Star and transferred from Jamestown, which has an NCAA Division II baseball program, right before the start of the second semester. He throws in the mid-80s.
Both Anderson and Warnke expressed confidence that Hagler will provide big things for them on the mound.
After Hagler, though, there remains a lot of competition. Beach carries a lot of experience with him, and Lane Kinsella had a 4.82 ERA in 18 2/3 innings for the Royals last year. There are two left-handed pitchers on the roster, both freshmen from Manitoba, in Kade Maryniuk and Michael Lindsay.
A major mission of the upcoming Kansas-Florida trip will be ironing out these spots.
“The biggest thing is staying together as a family,” Beach said. “We’re gonna spend a lot of time together, and it’s gonna be long days on the road. And you’re gonna play games and have to get back on that bus and head right back, but we together have established that essence of family.”
The team is driving all the way down to Dodge City, Kansas, from Devils Lake, to play four games between March 2 and 3 against Dodge City Community College. Then they’re taking a multiple-day trip across the country to Florida, where they’ll be stopping in Arkansas and Alabama. They’ll also be attending an Alabama vs. Troy baseball game as a team.
Then it’s Florida time for about a week.
“It’s gonna be great, man,” Beach said. “A lot of these guys have never seen that part of the country, and I feel like it’s just gonna be a fun all-around trip to get to see some different baseball and get that little bit of edge right before the season starts, and get warm weather and see how everybody’s producing in that game atmosphere.”
The Royals are competing in the RussMat Invitational from March 8-14, with 11 games in that span.
Then they get to drive all the way back to North Dakota from Florida. Their home opener is March 22.
“Those are fun, right?” Anderson said of the long trips. “That’s where you get to create a deeper connection with your teammates. You talk to people that look back on their college careers, and some of the things they talk about is just the bus rides and going out to eat with the guys.”
Playing baseball — or any sport, really — for LRSC requires numerous long bus rides. They’re in a conference with two teams from Montana, Miles Community College and Dawson Community College, along with North Dakota schools that are multiple hours away.
It requires patience and commitment. But, with so many of these players being from North Dakota and Manitoba, a lot of them are used to long travel times.
“It’s tough, especially with classes and everything,” said Warnke, a native of Emerado, North Dakota. “But I think we become a family. You bond on the road, and you get close to guys. You’re all in it together.”
The Royals’ first test isn’t a small one, with an onslaught of games after days of driving. But they’re building the tools to reverse course on a long string of losing seasons.
“We’re really excited,” Anderson said, “to hopefully change the trajectory of this program.”
