Elks chasing 4-peat

• Paul Roers

Paul Roers tops the pitching staff for the Jamestown Elks. The Moorhead native was one of the top pitchers for the Jamestown College baseball team in the spring. (Sun file photo / John M. Steiner )

Talk about it

The Jamestown Elks will again be the team to beat this weekend at the Class AAA state amateur baseball tournament.

The three-time defending Class AAA champs are a tall order for any amateur team. The heavy majority of the team’s roster are Jamestown College players, and considering the Jimmies are usually good, their success is no surprise.

Still, Boya Quichocho, one of the Elks’ non-collegians — although he still plays like one — warns his team to not look past anyone. The Elks play the second first-round game tonight against Groton, S.D.

“We tell the guys, once we get to state, erase everything. No one is going to roll over,” Quichocho said.

The Elks are 15-9 this season. They’ve played fewer games than normal as a couple of scheduled tournaments were cancelled. It’s led to some uneven play.

“We’ve had some good spurts, but then we’ve been up and down some too,” said Quichocho, also the team’s manager. “When we’ve had everyone, we’ve usually been able to hit our stride.”

The key players are expected to be in place this weekend. Among them is the middle of the lineup, which will be potent with the likes of former or current Jimmies in centerfielder Kyle Mallory, first baseman Mitch Stevens and catcher Jacob Ohmann.

The Elks pitching potentially could be really strong with Jimmie stalwarts Paul Roers, Kacy Gardiner and Adam Ranger fronting the staff.

“Things can look good on paper, but we need to play well,” Quichocho said. “It’s going to come down to hitting the ball. Other teams have good pitching too.”

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: amateur baseball, elks, sports, baseball