FARGO NORTH AND SHANLEY WIN THE EDC FOR SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL; RECEIVE EAST NO. 1 SEED FOR STATE

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR)–For the first time in history, the Fargo North Spartans are your Eastern Dakota Conference softball tournament champions. Down 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, the Spartans put their rally caps on and scored four runs to take their first lead of the game.

In the bottom half of the seventh, after allowing one run in the frame already, junior pitcher Maryn Schneider left the bases full for game ending strikeout to give the Spartans the 4-3 win.”

“When I saw it hit her glove it was just surreal,” said Schneider. “I was so excited.

Head Coach Taylor Ludlum said that she always had faith in her team making the late inning comeback.

“I have a lot of trust in this team,” said Ludlum. “I know they have a lot of fight in them and they wanted this, so I was just excited for them and had all my trust in them.”

Schneider said too was confident, even with her team down two runs and only three outs to go in the top of the seventh inning.

“When we [started the seventh inning] I knew that my job wasn’t done,” said Schneider. “I knew I wanted to [get the win] for my team and that was what I did. I feel very proud of both myself and my team for completing [the comeback], especially since it’s the first championship in program history.”

Fargo North entered the EDC tournament as the number four seed. They defeated number one seed Red River in the semifinals, and then continued their Cinderella run with the championship win over two-seed West Fargo.

Schneider says the win means a lot.

“Oh my gosh, it means so much,” said Schneider. “I knew that we could [win the EDC] from the get-go and it was just a matter of proving to people that we could. “When we had the upset the first game, I knew that we could do it the second game because we had a fire under our butts. “I knew that we could do it again. It was just a matter of completing that and proving to people that we are here…watch out.”

With that confidence, the Spartans enter the Class A State Tournament as the East one seed, Schneider says the team’s focus is to keep it rolling and to keep the same mindset that got them this far.

“We’re kind of taking that momentum and just rolling with it,” said Schneider. “We kept saying ‘why not us?’ That was our mentality the whole tournament. So, the fact that we did it, it was just amazing.”

Coach Ludlum shared that same thought.

“Yeah, we’ve been having conversations just ‘why not us?’,” said Ludlum. “Why can’t we be the number one team. I just think they showed up and played together and we’re all really excited  to see what’s to come [next week at the State Tournament.]”

Fargo North opens up the tournament against the West four-seed, Bismarck High. The game will take place at 12 P.M. Central Time on Thursday, May 30. The tournament runs through Saturday, June 1. The entire tournament will be played in Dickinson, North Dakota at Sanford Sports Complex.

Stay tuned throughout the week/weekend for continued coverage of the tournament on air and online.

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The softball EDC tournament was played in Casselton, North Dakota. 30 minutes East at Starion field in Fargo, the baseball EDC Champ was crowned.

The Shanley Deacons did not have it easy. After not playing on Thursday or Friday due to weather, the Deacons won their only two games on Saturday. As a result of their perfect a 11-0 conference regular season record, Shanley won the EDC title and will represent the East at State as the number one seed.

Senior pitcher and outfielder Jordan Leininger explained what the weekend was like for him and his squad.

“On Thursday we were supposed to play… at one or something, but then…one of the games in front of us went late… then it kept getting moved back…more rain came and then called the game,” said Leininger. “On Friday, tornado sirens went off and then the game got canceled. Today, here we are three days later as [EDC Champs].

Head Coach Luke Rustad said the weekend was tough, but his players powered through.

“It was crazy because you’re worried about where the guys minds go,” said Rustad. [Guys were like] ‘Hey, am I still pitching or am I still doing this’. We just kept making sure we were having our regular batting practices, keeping the kids in the loop and making sure that they’re ready to go.”

While some teams may falter when not knowing when/if they will play a conference tournament game on the weekend, the Deacons stayed composed and thrived.

Shanley won their first round game 18-0 over Fargo South. They followed that up with a 4-0 win over the three-time defending State Champion West Fargo Sheyenne Mustangs.

Leininger credits his team for staying focused throughout the weekend.

“We have a ton of senior leadership which I love,” said Leininger. “Quite a few of us have started varsity since our sophomore year. So, we have a lot of experience, but also the young guys being able to step up when we need them.”

Coach Rustad shared the same thought.

“I think it’s just a testament to having seniors that have played a lot of baseball,” said Rustad. [They have] been through a lot of different athletic success in games and being able to keep their heads and just be ready to go when it was time to play.”

The deacons now head to Dickinson in search of their first state title since 2013. After falling just one game short multiple times in the last decade, the team believes they have what it takes to end this season on top.

“We’ve had a lot of experience with playing Sheyenne and State Championships,” said Leininger. “So, this group knows a lot what it takes to get it done. I think that’s what separates us.”

As for Coach Rustad, he says, “[The] leadership we have on the team was even keel and ready to go [this weekend]. So, hopefully that’s the kind of mentality we’ll take into the State Tournament. Hopefully we play good baseball.”

Shanley opens up the tournament against the West four-seed, Williston. The game will take place at 12:30 P.M. Central Time on Thursday, May 30. The tournament runs through Saturday, June 1. The entire tournament will be played in Dickinson, North Dakota at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark.

Stay tuned throughout the week/weekend for continued coverage of the tournament on air and online.