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Bisonguy
04-18-2003, 05:57 PM
An interesting article about Bison baseball and bidding for a DI baseball tournament in the future:

The wait appears worth it
By Jeff Kolpack
jkolpack@forumcomm.com
The Forum - 04/18/2003
In 1995, North Dakota State assistant athletic director Erv Inniger walked into a room of Bison baseball players and coaches.

He gave them a facility option: Build a $300,000 to $500,000 field now or wait until he can raise enough money to build a stadium.

“We trusted him,” said Bison head coach Mitch McLeod.

Eight years later, the decision was a grand slam home run. Inniger raised the funds, and the Bison have one of the nicest college ballparks in the country.

Inniger remembers some players being hesitant in the 1995 meeting, especially the seniors.

“Athletes want things now,” he said.

He convinced them to wait.

He was right.

“This is a true pleasure,” McLeod said.

It’s turned into a true winner for the Bison, who have won 14 of their last 16 at home. They’re 7-1 this year. It’s taken awhile, but NDSU is establishing a

home-field presence in the North Central Conference.

Most teams have fields. NDSU has a stadium.

“The grass is green, the fence is nice with all the boards,” said second baseman Brandon Olson. “It’s a great baseball atmosphere.”

McLeod said NDSU hasn’t played in anything nicer since he’s been the head coach. That’s 11 years. He said the University of Minnesota’s Siebert Field is next.

Olson said St. Cloud State’s Dick Putz Field is probably his runnerup choice. Keep in mind the Bison have also played in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

“I would rather play here,” McLeod said.

The downside, of course, is the weather. The Bison don’t schedule most of their home games until April. They routinely play about 20 to 25 away games before their home opener.

Last week was their unveiling this year. With sunny skies and the temperatures in the 70s, the Bison swept the University of North Dakota in front of their usual loyal crowd of a few hundred.

“It’s a good environment for fans,” said shortstop Jeremiah Piepkorn. “It’s a professional park.”

It really is a professional park. The Bison share it with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the Northern League. It’s been a smooth partnership, mostly because their seasons don’t mix.

“We don’t get in their way and they don’t get in our way,” Olson said.

That, however, could change when NDSU begins a Division I schedule in 2004-05. The Division I season is longer, meaning the Bison and RedHawks could have conflicts in May when the RedHawks begin their training camp.

McLeod is pushing for NDSU to have its own locker room. There’s also talk, he said, of building a combined locker room facility for baseball at Newman and track and field and softball at adjacent Ellig Sports Complex. “Personally, I would like something within our facility,” McLeod said.

Inniger said once NDSU is Division I, it will bid to host a regional tournament.

“There’s no doubt about that,” he said.

There was no doubt about the weather this week: lousy. It was raining Wednesday, yet the players didn’t take the day off.

They dressed in a large locker room. They walked down a cavernous hallway to a batting cage located underneath the stands. McLeod and assistant coach Blair Tweet kept a keen eye on the hitters, who were preparing for two key NCC doubleheaders against Minnesota State, Mankato.

The games were pushed back to Monday and Tuesday.

The Bison, in fourth place, are hoping to at least keep their position over the final 10 games. The top four teams make the league playoffs.

“This could tip the scales one way or the other if we’re going to make the playoffs,” Olson said.

Before Newman Outdoor became a reality, the Bison would play Mankato at either Jack Williams Stadium or NDSU’s campus field. Neither provided the home-field feeling -- Jack Williams because it was Fargo American Legion’s field and NDSU’s field because there wasn’t money to maintain or improve it.

McLeod downplays the Newman advantage, saying just having the last at-bat like any home team is the advantage.

“Everybody plays in the same conditions,” he said. “I watch other teams when they come in and they comment on it being first-class. Teams get fired up when the come in here to play.”

McLeod also said Newman is not the main recruiting tool for NDSU.

“It still comes down to scholarship dollars,” he said. “Of the players we get, No. 1 and No. 2 are scholarships and education. The stadium is something that tips the scale for us.”

Piepkorn said Newman wasn’t an “influencing” factor in his decision to come to NDSU. Olson, however, said it made a big difference for him.

“They showed me the stadium and I was in awe right away,” he said.

It was an awe that was made possible by a decision made in 1995.

Inniger said $300,000 to $500,000 would get about 200 seats, lights, nice field and maybe a locker room.

“Very little,” he said.

That’s what most of NDSU’s opponents have.

“High school fields,” McLeod said. “Small dugouts. We’ve played in parks that have snow fences in the outfield.”

Life is so good now that Piepkorn’s only complaint was the stereo in the locker room didn’t work.

“This is hands down the best park,” he said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546

JBB
04-18-2003, 08:29 PM
Thats going to be great. Baseball is a great game to watch. We already have a home/home with Gophers.