SMSU’s four-game series against Minot State last week moved toYankee Field
No matter who is playing, Pat Dolan rarely misses a baseball game at Yankee Field. But he doesn’t remember ever attending a game in March.
That was the case last Thursday and Friday, as ongoing work at Marshall’s Legion Field combined with bad incoming weather in Minot and near-perfect weather in Milroy led to what could very well have been the first-ever March baseball game in town.
“I don’t ever remember a game in March,” Dolan said. “They’re usually lucky to get a game in early April. The field is still brown, but it’s getting a little greener.”
Officials from Southwest Minnesota State and Minot State announced last week that the weekend’s four-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball series between the two schools, originally scheduled to be played in Minot, ND, Saturday and Sunday, was to be relocated to Milroy at Yankee Field on Thursday and Friday.
The teams played a doubleheader on Thursday starting at 1:30 p.m., while Friday’s doubleheader began at noon. SMSU swept MSU.
“They called us on Monday, and we were just happy to try it out,” said Dolan. “Our field was kind of sloppy then, but it shaped up really nice. They seem to be real satisfied with the conditions; we mowed two or three times and got things ready. I’m glad they called, otherwise, I don’t know what they would’ve done. It’s really fun to host.”
Yankee Field is no stranger to opening up the field in the summer. Home of the Yankees, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton annually schedules games, and a number of section tournament games are played there in late May and/or early June.
MSU was the home team for all four games. Friday’s forecast in Minot called for a high of 35-40 degrees with snow. The weather in southwest Minnesota, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more opposite. The window of opportunity to play here opened Thursday to 60-degree weather, which was nothing compared to Friday’s near-80 degree temperatures.
“So many things had to fall into place for this to happen,” said Dolan. “I swear on Monday, we still had frost coming out of the ground around second base. But it seemed to have come along pretty good after that.”
The field in Milroy held up well and proved to be ready for competition. The only thing that needed to be added was plastic fencing in front of each dugout, as per NCAA rules.
“We had the availability to move the games to somewhere in our neck of the woods,” Mustang head coach Jeremy Ische said. “I talked to Pat and Brian Dolan and they were like, ‘Yah, we’d love to have you. The field will be ready to go. The hospitality was great, they dressed the field for us. It was an awesome weekend. We have a lot of Minnesota amateur kids on our team and they thought it was a really cool experience to see that field.
The Yankees are no strangers to last-minute ballpark prep. In 2020, Milroy hosted the Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament when New Ulm backed out of hosing because of the pandemic.
“I told the guys that they hosted the State Amateur Baseball Tournament back in the day, so it’s a nice field,” Ische said. “I think Pat had cut the infield to about an inch and cut the outfield to about three-quarters of an inch, so it played really good. It was a really good experience.”
Ische was most appreciative of the Milroy Yankees organization, leaving a twoday window of opportunity.
“We’re looking at more snow down here this week, and we’re supposed to play at Concorida, and it’s looking like they’re going to get 10 inches of snow Tuesday through Wednesday,” he said. “Anytime you get outdoors on a grass field in the month of March it’s a blessing. We’re just really thankful it worked out. It was an awesome weekend.”
