State tourney drought

Riverland coach Scott Koenigs guided his team to the state tournament in his first season, but they haven't been back in the six years since that time. This year, the goal doesn't seem to be just making it to state, but ultimately winning the whole thing.

Pitching is the key and Riverland has a deep mound corps. Staff aces Brady Banse and Brandon Huhn have received accolades all season. Freshman hurler Brian Voigt is unbeaten on the hill.

The Blue Devils also have the powerful bats to bash their way to state. They started out the season by pounding the ball around the Cocoa Beach Expo Center on their spring training trip to Florida, and the offensive display has continued virtually unabated.

Home runs were a common occurrence in a trio of doubleheader sweeps last week. With strong pitching and a solid offense, the Blue Devils will be a dangerous team in the post-season.

Winning streak

Since their loss to Dakota County in the first game of a doubleheader on Apr. 11th, the Blue Devils have won nine straight games. This included six straight wins at home last week in the Riverland complex.

Riverland is now 6-2 in the MCAC South and only needs to win one of four games this upcoming weekend against Rochester for a state berth. After years of not making it to state, it's likely the Blue Devils will do more damage than merely qualifying for the tournament this weekend.

There seems to be an attitude on this year's team and why not, the Blue Devils are as talented as any team in the state. The program spent years toiling in the shadow of their former coach Dwight "Dewey" Kotila during his successful run with Ridgewater, but that old nemesis is gone and the Blue Devils are poised to make a statement.

"We're ready to beat up on some division teams," Riverland slugger Andy Behnke said after last week's rout of Iowa Lakes Community College at Dick Seltz Field. The Blue Devils rolled on from that bashing of a non-conference team to sweeping a pair of doubleheaders from division foe Minnesota West.

The weather is getting warm and the sun is beginning to set on the spring seasons at the junior college. The baseball team plays its final two home doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday at Seltz Field.

Scott Kolb is a Post-Bulletin sports writer. He writes a weekly Tuesday column.