Quarterfinals

E1 Fargo North vs. W4 Bismarck

Fargo North made a run to its first ever EDC title from the spot of the No. 4 seed with wins over No. 5 Devils Lake, No. 1 Grand Forks Red River and No. 2 West Fargo. The Spartans turned it on late in the season by running the table at Midseason Madness with wins over Beulah, Minot North and Valley City. 

Bismarck quietly had a very strong season in the ultra-competitive WDA. The Demons were the No. 4 seed in the region tournament and started by fending off No. 5 Jamestown 11-10. They then lost to Minot 16-6 before defeating Williston 16-8 in a state qualifier. 

These teams are very evenly matched on paper and seem set to provide the best first round matchup of the tournament. The two teams did not meet during the regular season.

Predicted winner: Bismarck

W2 Minot vs. E3 Grand Forks Red River

Minot was the consensus No. 1 team in Class A for much of the 2024 season. Their run to a WDA crown was stopped short by an outstanding Dickinson team in the conference title game. Minot leads the state in wins this season (29-4).

Grand Forks Red River ran the table in the EDC in the regular season but fell short in the tournament with a loss to Fargo North. The RoughRiders advanced to state with a win in a state qualifier. 

Minot and Red River met three times in the regular season. They split a doubleheader on April 5 with Minot taking game one 11-0 and Red River rebounding 7-4 in game two. The two teams met against in Midseason Madness with Minot walking away 14-0 winners.

Predicted winner: Minot

E2 West Fargo vs. W3 Mandan

West Fargo is somewhat quietly 21-7 on the season. They beat a solid West Fargo Sheyenne team in the EDC semi-finals before falling to upstart Fargo North in the region title game. West Fargo is 4-2 against the West this season, but did not play any state tournament participants. 

Mandan will play under the bright lights of the state tournament for the first time in school history. Mandan was the 3-seed in the WDA tournament and picked up a one-run win over Bismarck Legacy in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Mandan fell to Dickinson 11-1. Then, Mandan held off Jamestown and won 4-3 to advance to state.  Mandan played two games against the East, beating Grand Forks Red River by two and falling to West Fargo Sheyenne by four.

This is a second very close matchup on paper. 

Predicted winner: West Fargo

W1 Dickinson vs. E4 West Fargo sheyenne

Dickinson flexed its muscle in the WDA tournament, defeating Williston, Mandan and Minot by a combined score of 25-4. At 26-4, the Midgets have very few blemishes: Williston, Minot, Beulah and Jamestown. They also beat all of those teams. 

West Fargo Sheyenne topped Fargo Davies 2-1 to sneak back into the state tournament. Prior to that, they knocked off Shanley 9-1 before falling to West Fargo 8-6 in the EDC tournament. Sheyenne went 5-3 against state tournament contenders from the West, including a win over Mandan. 

The two teams did not meet in the regular season. 

Predicted winner: Dickinson

Semi-Finals

Bismarck vs. minot

Minot went 3-0 against Bismarck during the regular season with wins of 8-4, 6-3 and 16-6. Bismarck enters state as a 20 win ball club. However, very few teams have proven they can hang with Minot. 

Predicted winner: Minot

West Fargo vs. Dickinson

West Fargo has made a nice late season run, but they aren't the Packers of old. At the same time, this Dickinson team is very reminiscent of last year's Dickinson team that won a state title. With the way Dickinson pitched and defended in the region tournament, they will be a tough out. 

Predicted winner: Dickinson

Championship

Minot vs. dickinson

The only two teams to hold the No. 1 ranking in Class A this season rematching in the title game would be about perfect. Dickinson topped Minot 6-3 on April 20. The two teams met again on April 23 with Minot winning game one 11-3 and Dickinson winning game two 1-0. They met again on Saturday in the WDA title game with Minot winning 6-1. Dickinson is the only team to beat Minot more than once and they account for 75% of the Majettes losses. The only other team to beat Minot was Red River way back on April 5. 

If this is the state title game, it will likely live up to the billing. 

Predicted winner: Dickinson

Quarterfinals

2 Central Cass vs. Renville County

Central Cass has come on as strong as anyone in the state late in the season. They did ultimately fall to Kindred-Richland in extra innings in the region title game, but they also have three wins against the Vikings this season. The Squirrels are 7-2 against state tournament teams, including a win over top ranked May-Port-CG.

Renville County only has three losses on the season, but they are all in the last two weeks. They dropped a pair of games at Midseason Madness and then fell to Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark. They'll lean on one of the state's top pitchers in the state tournament. 

Central Cass beat Renville County 28-0 at Midseason Madness. 

Predicted winner: Central Cass

3 Beulah vs. Thompson

It's a rematch of the 2023 state title game that Beulah won. The Miners are 15-1 against Class B this season with their only loss coming at the hands of No. 1 May-Port-CG. They slipped up a bit at Midseason Madness, but outside of that have a great resume which includes a win over WDA champion Dickinson. 

Thompson was certainly in the conversation for a seed, but was ultimately left out largely because they went 0-3 against May-Port-CG. The Tommies do have a pair of super impressive wins over Kindred-Richland and Central Cass. 

These teams did not play each other in the regular season. 

Predicted winner: Beulah

1 May-port-cg vs. Velva-drake/anamoose

The May-Port-CG Patriots spent the back half of the season at No. 1 in the coaches polls after they beat Beulah in the middle of the season. They have two one-run losses on the season to Minot and Central Cass. They are 5-1 against state tournament opponents. 

Velva-Drake/Anamoose battled their way to the state tournament and now will face an uphill climb. The Aggies are 0-8 against state tournament teams. They ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak before working their way through the region tournament and through a state qualifier where they beat Heart River 12-11.

Predicted winner: May-Port-CG

4 Kindred-Richland vs. 5 Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark

The Lakers of DLBLC beat Kindred-Richland 16-5 way back on April 6. A lot has changed since then. DLBLC has gone on to win a Class B best 20 games, while Kindred-Richland rallied to win the Region 1 title. 

DLBLC is 2-4 against state tournament teams, defeating Kindred-Richland and Renville County. Kindred-Richland is 4-6 against state tournament foes including wins over Central Cass, Thompson and Velva-Drake/Anamoose (twice). 

This is an extremely interesting game on paper. Both teams have played their best ball late in the season. No result would be surprising. 

Predicted winner: Kindred-Richland

Semi-Finals

Central Cass vs. Beulah

This game would be one that looks incredibly appetizing on paper. Central Cass has surged late in the season, playing extremely well especially against opponents from the West. Beulah is 15-1 vs. Class B opponents and is a rough Midseason Madness weekend away from a tremendous resume.

Beulah has the top end pitcher. Central Cass has a bit deeper lineup. Both teams have young talent. They didn't face each other in the regular season. This one truly looks like a coin flip on paper. 

Predicted winner: Central Cass

May-Port-CG vs. Kindred-Richland

It's a bummer that these two didn't play during the regular season. Both teams have strong resumes and are only about an hour drive from one another. It would be some kind of poetic justice for them to finally meet at the state tournament in Jamestown. 

For the Patriots, it comes down to how many innings can they get over the weekend out of their ace pitcher. For the Vikings, it comes down to rekindling that magic that propelled them to win Region 1. This is another game that looks extremely tight on paper. 

Predicted winner: May-Port-CG

Championship

Central Cass vs. May-Port-CG

The Patriots and Squirrels played an instant classic in Casselton late in the regular season with Central Cass winning 9-8. It is noteworthy that May-Port-CG did not start their ace pitcher in this non-region contest. If these two teams meet in the title game, you can rest assured that won't happen again. 

Central Cass isn't the powerhouse that they have been for much of the past decade and a half, but their young talent is peaking at the right time. May-Port-CG has never been in a position like this where they are poised for a state title run. However, MPCG's roster is not adverse to these situations. A lot of these kids won a state basketball title a few months back. 

This is the best matchup of several great options for a Class B title game. 

Predicted winner: May-Port-CG