MSU President's Column for Traill County Tribune

April 13, 2019

Mayville State baseball, softball make us Comet Proud

MSU Head Baseball Coach Scott Berry has reached another milestone - 1,100 wins! The record was notched Sunday, April 7, during Mayville State’s doubleheader victory over Dakota State. Games were played in Dickinson, N.D.

Coach Berry is one of the many reasons for us to be Comet Proud! He is in his 38th season as head baseball coach at Mayville State. During those 38 years, Berry’s teams have won 23 regular season conference championships, including every regular season conference title from 1986 to 2002, along with 22 conference tournament championships. The Comets have made 28 appearances in the NAIA national playoffs. Under Berry’s leadership, the Comets have won three NAIA regional titles, won the 2002 Plains Super Regional title, and finished in fifth place at the NAIA World Series in 2002. Berry has been named conference coach of the year 23 times, district coach of the year nine times, and NAIA region coach of the year four times.

Congratulations, Coach Berry! We’re proud of you and your coaching staff, not only for what you do as coaches, but also as people who mentor young men as they make their way to being successful in their lives and their careers.

As of this writing, the baseball team is on a four-game winning streak, and the North Star Athletic Association announced this week that Comet first baseman Adrian Zubia, a junior from Phoenix, Ariz., is the conference player of the week. The Comets’ overall record on the season in 11-16. As is pretty typical, it’s been a hectic season as spring weather in North Dakota can be difficult. The large amount of snow and cool temperatures this year have made it difficult to find a time and place to play.

Plans are to have special activities in conjunction with upcoming home games at Scott Berry Field. Saturday, April 20 is Breast Cancer Awareness Day for Comets Baseball. MSU will host Viterbo University on that date, and the game time is 12 noon. Wednesday, April 24 will be Military Appreciation Day. The Comets will host Valley City State University, and the game time is 2 p.m. Weather permitting, the local color guard will present the colors and the Avenue of Flags will be on display. The National Guard will sponsor special activities in conjunction with the game. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us in cheering on the Comets while saluting good causes.

The Comets women’s softball team is having an exciting spring! As of this writing, their record is 15-9 and they’ve just swept Dakota State University in two games. They face the weather woes, as does baseball, but things are coming together and games are being played. We’ve made arrangements so that home softball games can be played on the newly installed artificial turf at the football field. Thanks to the generosity of the McGillis family and other community folks, equipment that will allow configuration of a softball field on the turf has been purchased. Plans are to play games versus Waldorf University at Jerome Berg Field this weekend. The game on Saturday, April 13 begins at 1 p.m. Sunday’s game begins at 1 p.m. I hope that you will have an opportunity to come to campus and support the Comets softball team in their first games to be played on the Mayville State campus.

I congratulate Head Coach Ashley Tomblin and her team for the great season they’re having. Pitchers Shaye Kemball, a junior from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Annika Seedborg, a junior from Hawaiian Gardens, Calif., have both received North Star Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week honors this season.

We’re eager to watch both the softball and baseball teams in action on campus in the coming weeks. Because of the weather conditions, things can change quickly, so please watch the game schedules at www.msucomets.com to confirm when and where the teams are playing. Come out to the fields and show your Comet pride!