LEGION BASEBALL: Hatton team has played on the edge of victory and defeat

Trenton Olson likes baseball better when there isn't an easy path to victory.

At Hatton, Olson and his American Legion baseball teammates have played the summer on the edge of victory and defeat.

Hatton takes a 24-8 record to the North Dakota Class B state tournament after coming through the loser-out round to win the Section 3 championship last week. Hatton meets Cando at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a first-round game in Beulah.

Of those 24 wins, nine have been by one or two runs. Of the eight losses, only one -- a 5-0 setback to Casselton in the third round of the section tournament -- was by more than three runs.

"I like those close games,'' Olson, one of the pitching aces for Hatton, said. "It makes it more interesting when you have close games. I like that rush, getting more pumped up when you know that any play could mean winning or losing a game.''

The section tournament was a prime example of Hatton living on the edge.

Hatton opened with a 4-2 win against Mayville. After an easy 8-1 win against Gardner, top-seeded Casselton dropped Hatton into the loser-out round with a 5-0 win.

Hatton reached the championship by beating Thompson 4-3 -- a game in which Hatton was on the verge of elimination. Hatton trailed 3-2 with two out and nobody on base in the seventh inning. Mike Paulson homered to tie the score, then Hatton had three straight singles, with Olson driving in the game-winning run.

Then it was 7-3 and 4-2 wins against Casselton. Olson pitched a total of 11Zc innings on the final day, getting both wins, as Hatton ended Casselton's run of five straight section titles.

"Just to be able to get to state was great,'' Olson said. "We got back to Hatton and we got an escort around town behind the fire truck. Then we had a pizza party.

"Then (the celebrating) was done and it was time to look ahead and focus on state.''

Success is all about pitching. Olson (4-2, 2.12 ERA, 59 strikeouts in 34Xc innings) and right-handers Paulson (3-1, 1.00, 41 strikeouts in 39 innings) and Greg Thompson (5-1, 1.17, 46 strikeouts in 36 innings) give Hatton a trio of aces. Jace Pederson (5-1, 1.63) is a solid No. 4.

"With our pitching, nobody has blown us out,'' Hatton coach Christopher Strand said. "Thompson has been our No. 1 for the last four years. Olson has been dominant for the last three years and Paulson for the last two. Olson is a hard-throwing lefty, Thompson a hard-throwing righty. Paulson is a bulldog who really goes after people. We can ride our pitching.''

This trip to the state Legion tournament has been a long time in coming for the Hatton community that has a rich baseball tradition. Hatton last won a state Legion tournament in 1997. The last time Hatton played in a state Legion tournament was 1998.

"I don't know if any of these kids remember anything about that '97 team,'' Strand said. "But they know the names of those players. That was a great group of players.

"Hatton is a baseball town, and that's a group they still talk about around here. You sure hope this will be a group that is remembered. And they're capable of that.''

DeVillers reports on sports. Call him at (701) 780-1128; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1128; or send e-mail to gdevillers@gfherald.com .