Hard work has paid off for Riverland baseball coach Scott Koenigs and now his team is headed off this weekend to the Junior College World Series in Tyler, Texas.

This is the first time since 1998 in which the Riverland Blue Devils have qualified for the JUCO World Series. Back in that year, former coach Dwight "Dewey" Kotila guided the team to a regional title when the tournament was played in Austin. Kotila then went on to coach at Ridgewater and made a number of trips to the World Series.

Koenigs stepped into Kotila's shadow by coaching his team into the World Series and if he can win a few games in Texas, he would eclipse his old mentor at Riverland. It's been a long wait for Koenigs. The Blue Devils hadn't made it to state in six years and they ended that drought with a state championship.

The last time the Blue Devils played in the regional, they received an at-large bid because they were the home team. This year's Blue Devils left no doubt as they bashed their way to the Region 13 title last weekend. The coach has paid his dues and now his team will board a bus for Texas on Wednesday.

"I've been talking to Dewey and getting ideas on what it's like at the JUCO World Series," Koenigs said. "He's been giving me some tips, and it helps to have somebody to talk to about what to expect. Dewey has been there so many times, and he's been good about helping me prepare for this trip."

Built for success

Koenigs has been criss-crossing the countryside these last seven years looking for talent and building his program. The coach has brought in key players from South Dakota and Wisconsin, along with the counties in southern Minnesota.

These recruiting trips have yielded players who can bat the ball around Dick Seltz Field. The Blue Devils are hitting .345 as a team and they put on a power display in both the state and region tournaments. They scored double-digit run totals in the last two regional wins.

Yet, a championship baseball team is centered around pitching and depth is the key to a successful tournament run. When Brandon Huhn could only pitch one inning due to arm soreness at the region, Brian Voigt stepped in and pitched six solid innings of relief to win the opener.

Brady Banse is the colorful character in the rotation, and is one of those pitchers with what Koenigs calls, "an attitude." When he gets on the hill, the result is usually a victory for the Blue Devils.

"We have seven guys on our team with offers to four-year schools and Brady is headed off to the University of Nebraska-Omaha next season," Koenigs said. "This is what I envisioned for my program and the guys who come here to play ball for me. I'm happy for our kids, they worked hard this year. I'm satisfied with we're at for this point of the season, and hopefully we can win a couple of games at the World Series."

Total team effort

Although the pitching staff is guided by sophomore leadership from Banse and Huhn, there are plenty of other contributors who have helped with the team's successful season. Mitch Jaeger recently returned to the mound corps from an injury, and he gives Koenigs another guy to turn to out of the bullpen.

Ryan Palmer started and got the pitching win in the region championship game last Saturday. The crafty left-hander is a nice compliment to the power game of Banse in the pitching rotation.

"I'm not sure who I'll throw in the opener against No. 1 ranked Richland Community College (Texas)," the coach said. "I'd like to keep Banse ready to go for the second game. I know they swing the bats real well, so we might throw a combination of pitchers at them. Palmer throws a lot of off-speed stuff and is sneaky fast. We have the pitching depth to get the job done."

Rebels riding high

One year removed from a magical ride to the championship game of the Class A State Tournament in high school, four former members of the Southland Rebels baseball team are off with the Blue Devils on the trip to Texas.

Kody Retterath, Voigt, Derek Emanuel, and Winston Smith all played for the Rebels on their run to the state finals last year. They've taken that success to the next level. Friends and family of these Rebels favorites will be making their own travel plans to the "Lone Star State."

"We've had great fan support from all of the kids' parents, and I'm sure the Southland crew is excited," Koenigs said. "They're getting used to the success of those guys. It really hasn't set in that we're still playing ball.

"There are a lot of details to work on with motel room reservations and other paperwork, but once I get on that bus and we roll out of the Riverland parking lot, it will hit me that we made it to the World Series. When the season started with our first meeting, I photocopied pictures of the stadium in Tyler and told the guys this is where we want to go. Now, we're headed there and it's exciting to be in the JUCO World Series."