For
the first time in program history, the Southeast Community College baseball
team is heading to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II
World Series.
On
Saturday the Storm took two games from 14th-ranked Iowa Central
Community College 11-9 and 7-4 at Christenson Field to win the North Plains District
title. The Storm’s bats were on fire as they hammered four home runs in each
game contributing to 15 hits in the first game and 10 in the second.
Coach
Dion Parks said he couldn’t be more proud of his team’s hard work and
perseverance. The Storm enters the Division II World Series with a 40-18 record.
“It
says a lot about our kids, says a lot about the guys who have been here,” said
Parks, who along with his brother, Tyson, coach the team. “It’s a good deal for
our school. We have the opportunity to play on the national stage. I’m looking
forward to it.”
Parks
said many players stood out last weekend, including University of
Nebraska-Omaha commit Ben Palensky, who hit two homers over the two-game series.
Palensky leads SCC with 12 home runs and 62 runs batted in. Shortstop and
Illinois commit Grant Van Scoy also hit a home run on the first pitch of game
two. Van Scoy leads the Storm in hitting with a .374 average. Catcher Wyatt
Meyer also hit two dingers in game two.
“On
the mound, Kayleb Sanderson and B.J. Sparks did a great job,” Parks said.
This
is the Storm’s ninth year as a baseball program, Parks’ seventh year of
coaching. He says the program has come a long way.
“When
I started here we struggled, and we just kept building it up,” he said. “We
have a lot of Nebraska kids. We’re fortunate there’s lots of good baseball
here. Around 65 percent of our roster is usually from Nebraska.”
Southeast
will leave Thursday for Oklahoma, practice Friday and start the series on
Saturday. The Storm will play teams they have never played before, Parks said.
“Everybody
there is going to be pretty good, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he added.
The series will take place at David Allen
Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Oklahoma, Saturday through June 3. The Storm will play their first game against Lansing (38-15), the eighth seed. Southeast is seeded ninth.