Aberdeen Circus Sports Bar got into the South Dakota Class A Amateur Baseball State Tournament last weekend, and now it would like to do some serious damage starting this weekend.
Circus will face the Black Hills A’s at 5 p.m. Saturday in Yankton in the opening round. A second contest will also take place in Yankton, before the tourney moves to Mitchell next weekend.
Circus got to this point by beating the Sioux Falls Brewers, before losing the top-rated Brookings Cubs.
Circus coach Evan Brandt said the loss helped the team prepare for the rest of the tournament.
“I think we know a lot about our team. It just gave us the opportunity to see better pitching than we’ve seen all year,” Brandt said. “So, if anything, it was an opportunity for us to use that experience at the plate and move forward with it.”
It also gave the team motivation heading into the rest of the tourney.
“I think any loss in that first round gives you motivation,” Brandt said. “Motivation to go out and prove yourself in the second round.”
The A’s have lost just two games so far this season, but Aberdeen is planning to go out and take care of business.
“The expectation is always a win, but we don’t know a ton about them,” Brandt said. “They’re a West River team that we don’t see throughout the course of the year. We know they’ve got a couple guys that can swing it. … I think they’re going to have some guys that can play and be a good heads-up team. So, our expectation right now is just to go and outhit them and get them off the board.”
While not knowing exactly what the A’s bring to the table might present a challenge, Brandt has confidence in his team and the experience the players possess.
“It’s different. You don’t have a complete report, but I think that we’ve got guys on our team that have played all over the state and know some of these guys,” Brandt said. “Once you get a roster in your hand, you kind of know who some of them are. Once we get there, it will be different and then we’ve got some resources to find out who some of these guys are.”
Brandt plans to rely on his team’s offense not only in this game, but throughout the tournament. Circus scored double digit runs in nine games so far this year and put up nine runs in two other contests.
“Everything for us is offensive right now,” Brandt said. “Our pitching staff is good, but we’re going to give up some runs. We need to hit. We’ve been hitting, so it’s really nice to see some of our guys really come through and put the offensive pressure on some teams. So that’s going to be our focus for the entire tournament.”
With the tournament being a double elimination event, it can be long and grueling, and test a team’s mental toughness, but Brandt isn’t worried about that with his players.
“I think we’re so mature that doesn’t really come into play much,” Brandt said. “All of our guys have a lot of college experience and a lot of amateur experience. We know going in that if we lose, we still have an opportunity. I think for our team and our group, it’s just not a part of the conversation most of the time.”
Mental toughness and experience are two of the biggest strengths for the Circus team. It allows the players to be able to overcome tough spots during games.
“I think it’s extremely important. It’s important for the guys on the field,” Brandt said. “I think that’s the biggest thing for our young guys on the mound to know that if something bad happens, there’s a mature group behind them and they’ll figure it out. They’ll get through it and get them out of the inning at some point.”
Not only that, but with a potent offense, Circus pitchers know that the squad has the ability to overcome any deficit.
“Then they’ll hit behind them as well. For the guys on the field, that’s a huge thing: the maturity level and knowing that when we get back to the dugout, we’ll take care of business and figure it out as we go,” Brandt said, “because we’ve been around the game for huge amounts of innings. … So, it’s just not a crumble opportunity for us.”
While the focus and goal is to win the state championship, Brandt knows it’s an accomplishment to get to this point.
“It feels awesome,” Brandt said. “I think a lot of the time Aberdeen gets discounted a little bit. We don’t have the high-power (NCAA) Division II or Division I programs in town and sometimes I think Aberdeen is highly overlooked. I think this is an opportunity for us to get on that stage and show what we’ve got.”
