For the second time in three years the North Iowa Area Community College baseball team is headed to the division two Junior College World Series. NIACC beat Southeast Community College of Nebraska on Monday in the Northern Plains District Tournament and travel to Enid, Oklahoma for Saturday’s start of the World Series.
“It’s a wild ride and this time we kind of took the hard way, but we’ll take it,” NIACC coach Travis Hergert said. He said much of the credit goes to assistant coaches Pete Lauritsen and Shawn Schlecter as they put a lot of time in developing the players. “I’m so grateful to have those two guys on the staff and to have a team that is as resilient as this bunch. This group just continues to want to get better,” Hergert says.
The Trojans are one of the nation’s top offensive teams but Hergert credits improved pitching for a streak that has seen them win 27 of their last 30 games.
Enid will be familiar territory for the Trojans. They played several games there during a March trip. Herget says that gives them a better feel for what to expect as they head into the tournament.
NIACC is 48-14 and will play Kellog Community College of Michigan in Saturday night’s opening round.