Thanks to a 3-1 finish in last weekend's state seeding tournament, the Keybirds are the No. 2 seed and will be on the opposite side of the bracket from the Dickinson Roughriders, who come into the state tournament as the defending state champions.
At 31-17 on the season, a large part of Williston's success this season has come at the plate. As a team, the Keybirds are averaging 8.3 runs per contest and are hitting at a clip of .348.
Five batters in the Williston starting lineup are hitting over the team average, including Shawn Egge and Doug Richter, who are hitting .421 and .406, respectively.
To take that a step further, Egge and Richter are both having career years, which should place them solidly in the top 10 of several Williston offensive categories. Although career statistics weren't available for either player, Egge is leading this year's team in hits (69), runs (69), extra base hits (34), home runs (18) and batting average (.421). With one more year of eligibility, it is likely Egge will claim the top spot in many of these categories before the end of the 2010 season.
Richter is second on the team in hits (63), RBIs (59), home runs (8) and batting average (.406). Richter also leads the team with 20 doubles.
"What they are doing is amazing," said Williston coach Chip Devlin.
Having a couple of hot bats in the lineup may come in handy for the Keybirds against West Fargo.
The Patriots' 1-0 win over Williston on June 15 was the only time this season the Keybirds were blanked by an in-state opponent. The Keybirds were limited to three hits in the loss.
However, the Keybirds pounded out 12 hits in a 10-2 win in the nightcap of the June 15 doubleheader.
The winner of today's game will play the winner of the Bismarck/Mandan game on Thursday.
The Keybirds won all four games against Mandan during the regular-season. The Governors did take three of four from Williston in the regular-season, but the Keybirds got the last laugh in a 4-3 win last weekend in the state seeding tournament.
On the defensive side of things, pitching has certainly had its ups and downs for the Keybirds this season. Prior to last week, the Williston pitchers had combined to walk 234 batters on the season, while striking out 207.
Eric Olson enters the state tournament with a 7-0 record for Williston. He started in the loss to Dickinson on Thursday and was nearly tagged for the loss, but a rally by the Keybirds got him off the hook. He is 13-0 in the last two summers for the Keybirds.
Whatever Olson's secret to success is, it's just enough to get him by.
"I would want to hit off him," Devlin said of Olson.
It is likely Olson gets the starting nod in today's game.
If not, then either Egge or Alex Hanson will get the start.
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