Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – There is no such thing as an easy path to the state semifinals.

Few teams have had a rougher road to the semifinals than what Regina faced this season.

Ninth-ranked Regina won back-to-back games over the No. 3 Wilton and second-ranked Treynor to reach the state semifinals for the first time since 1994.

Things don’t get any easier for the Regals on Thursday.  

Regina (28-7) will face traditional power and seventh-ranked Dyersville Beckman (30-11) in the Class 2A semifinals at 5 p.m. at Principal Park in Des Moines.

“I guess it’s true what they say you have to beat the best to be the best,” Regina coach Jeff Pacha said. “This time of year you know you are going to have to beat a team because no one is going to beat themselves.”

The only ranked teams in the 2A semifinals, Regina and Beckman had to navigate challenging routes just to reach the state tournament.

Regina rallied for an 11-7 win over third-ranked Wilton in the substate final while Beckman edged arch rival and sixth-ranked Cascade 5-0 to return to state.

“Our side of the state always seems to be tough,” Pacha said. “Before you can even get to Principal Park you have to play a team like Wilton or Cascade so just to get there is always a tough road.”

Both teams were equally impressive in quarterfinal wins on Wednesday.

Regina picked up a 5-0 win over second-ranked Treynor while Beckman advanced with a 7-1 win over Denver.

Both teams bring nine-game winning streaks into Thursday’s semifinal.

“We are taking it day by day,” Regina junior Ryne Schooley said. “We aren’t really looking back we are looking in the present and working and getting ready to go.”

Few teams can match the state tournament success of Beckman.

The Blazers are 28-12 in 18 all-time trips to state and have five state titles, the most recent coming in 2013.

Beckman is making its fifth state tournament appearance in the past six seasons and is seeking its fourth title game appearance during that span.

“They definitely aren’t going to beat themselves,” Pacha said of Beckman. “Everybody we have talked to has said it’s typical Beckman which is really good baseball.”

Regina has been playing its own brand of strong baseball over the past several weeks.

The Regals have outscored opponents 88-24 during their nine-game winning streak and have scored double digit runs five times during the stretch.

A big part of the late-season success for Regina has been an offense that is putting up better than nine runs per game in the postseason.

Regina is hitting .368 as a team in four postseason wins.

“I think everyone has confidence in themselves and in the team,” Regina junior Mitch Gahan said. “We just go up there and try to put the bat on the ball and make something happen.”

Regina will need to be good offensive on Thursday against a Beckman squad that enters with a 2.33 ERA.

The Blazers are expected to start junior Conner McDermott who is 8-2 with a 1.80 ERA in 62 1/3 innings. 

“We are more worried about playing our game because whoever is on the mound is 60 feet six inches away,” Pacha said. “Our focus is making the plays we need to make, throwing strikes and attacking the zone and then having a good approach and if we do that we are going to give ourselves a chance to be in any ball game against whoever we are playing.”