Historic Postseason Run No. 2 seed Lions finish state tournament as final four team, advance to semifinals
The Bismarck Lions made some roaring noise on the diamond and soared their way through the Class 3A state baseball tournament as a final four team for an impressive postseason run for 2023.
The No. 2 seed Bismarck Lions were untouchable in their first two round matchups to ignite two consecutive shutout victories to make No. 3 seed Danville Little Johns 4-0 and No. 1 seed Gosnell Pirates 5-0 feel the roar and advance to the state semifinals.
The Lions continued their momentum into the semifinals despite falling to the No. 1 seed Harding Academy Wildcats 10-5.
The Lions put together one of the best postseason runs in the history of their baseball program led by head coach Cameron Brown.
The Lions finished the season 18-6 overall, with runner-up title finishes in the 3A-7 Conference— District and 3A-4 Regional Tournaments to earn the No. 2 seed for the state tournament.
Brown was super proud of how hard, tough and dedicated the Lions maintained their competitive spirits to perform as a dangerous and talented force on the diamond.
The standout senior signee and college prospect Ian Smith helped lead the Lions through their journey for the 2023 baseball season. Smith pitched a shutout victory in the first round at state against Danville to earn the heroic win on the hill. Smith threw seven innings, allowed no runs, with five hits and struck out 11 batters and threw 64 strikes—while Preston Hughes followed the senior’s play and earned the victory in the quarterfinals against No. 1 seed Gosnell. Hughes pitched seven innings, allowed three hits, no runs and struck out six batters and threw 61 strikes to ignite the strike zone.
Lucas Chapman and Blayden Whitley each displayed productive pitching performances in the state semifinals game against No. 1 seed Harding Academy. Chapman pitched three and one-thirds innings and struck out two batters and threw 52 strikes—whitley pitched two and two-thirds innings and allowed four hits, two runs and struck out three batters and threw 25 strikes across the plate against the Wildcats.
Offensively, senior Kalem Rorie powered the offense against Danville with three hits and had three stolen bases— while Whitley had two hits and Jaylon Ashcraft, Chapman both had a hit apiece. Bo Bates, Chapman and Caleb Schultz each had a stolen base to spark on the base paths for the Lions.
Schultz, Chapman and
Ashcraft led the offense for the Lions in the quarterfinals against Gosnell. Hughes, Rorie, Chapman, Malachi Stephenson and Whitley each drove in a key run for an RBI. Schultz, Smith, Rorie, and Chapman each sparked the scoring attack and scored a run.
The Lions tallied two hits with five runs scored against Harding Academy in the semifinals. Smith and Chapman led the offensive execution with a hit apiece against the Wildcats. Chapman drove in two runs for two RBIS, while Smith and Schultz each sparked for an RBI. Bates sparked on the base path and had one stolen base against the Wildcats in the semifinal match-up.
Overall, Brown knew the Lions’ play was stout in the postseason and as a team, they raised their level of performance to elite status to finish as one of the top teams in the state for Class 3A.
“The first two rounds of state we played great defensively,” Brown said. “[Ian Smith] pitched great against Danville and defensively we didn’t make any mistakes—[preston] Hughes threw a gem against Gosnell throwing an 86 pitch complete game and had a no hitter going into the bottom of the seventh and paired with another mistake less defensive outing gave us a great chance of winning,” Brown stated.
He added, “In the semi’s, [Lucas] Chapman pitched well but an error on defense sparked Harding Academy to a four-run second inning to take the lead 4-2. We never gave up though and battled until the end. Very proud of these young men. They have set a new standard at Bismarck and we look to continue to build upon this season and continue to compete at a high level.”