Amateur MVPs: Anderson, Gaunska, Quichocho earn awards

Who says amateur baseball is just for the kids.

Kids meaning college players, but some seasoned vets held their own and then some the past two weeks at the state tournaments at Jack Brown Stadium.

North Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Famer Cory Anderson, Jamestown College assistant baseball coach Boya Quichocho and Levi Gaunska have been chosen as this year’s state amateur tournament Most Valuable Players. Gaunska, a 2009 Jamestown High School graduate, is the youngest of the three.

This year’s top award in Class AA is just the latest MVP plaque for Anderson, who has collected several during his career.

The 46-year-old Anderson, who coached the Blue Jay baseball team the last four years, led the Jamestown Tarno Townies to a Class AA title.

As usual, Anderson did it both on the mound and at the plate.

Pitching-wise, the side-winding right-hander earned the win in two of the Townies’ three games. Anderson surrendered just five runs on 10 hits in 13 innings pitched. He struck out 10 batters and walked only three. He tossed a complete game in the Townies 8-2 win over the Fargo Mets on Aug. 12. Offensively, he went 3-for-11 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Gaunska is the Class A MVP for the second straight season.

The former Blue Jay and Post 14 Legion player went 2-0 for the second consecutive Class A tournament, leading the Jamestown Hounds to back-to-back titles.

Gaunska fired two complete games on the mound. In 14 innings, he allowed four runs on 14 hits with seven strikeouts and just two walks. Hardly anybody could get him out when he was at the plate. He hit a cool .636 with seven hits in 11 at bats. He also had three RBIs.

Gaunska’s teammate Shane Schoeneberg also had a nice tournament. The Jamestown Post 14 Legion coach went 5-10 at the plate with an RBI. He also spun a complete game for the Hounds in their semifinal win over the Beulah-Hazen Blackjaws. The left-hander allowed just one run on six hits with seven strikeouts.

Quichocho won his second MVP award in the last three years as the Jamestown Elks made it four straight Class AAA crowns.

Quichocho, 28, piled up nine hits in 15 at bats hitting out of the No. 2 hole. He also had six RBIs, stole five bags, doubled twice and committed just one error in three games at shortstop.

Fargo Expos slugger Billy Sholl actually had a slightly higher average than Quichocho’s Nintendo-like .600. The former multi-sport standout at Fargo South High School went 9-for-14 (.643), including a stretch where he had eight consecutive hits, one of them a three-run homer.

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

Tags: sports, baseball, amateur