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Despite hardships, Bauer chasing his pitching dream


When your goal to be a college baseball pitcher is made tougher by there being no baseball team to play on, training can be a very tough ordeal. But the COVID-19 pandemic is not stopping Mobridge-Pollock High School senior, Noah Bauer, from chasing his dream.
Not only is Bauer losing this year for organized baseball, he lost most of last year. Mobridge tried to have an American Legion baseball team but that did not work out. He did get to pitch a few games for the Chamberlain Legion team.
An old Mobridge connection helped land that opportunity.
He contacted Caden Lenz, who attended Mobridge-Pollock until his family moved to Kimball a few years ago. Lenz plays baseball for the Chamberlain Legion. That led to Chamberlain’s coach and Bauer getting together.
“Their coach said I could play, so I got to pitch three or four games for them,” said Bauer.
But that did not include the comradery part of playing baseball. Bauer made trips to play games but was not able to be a part of the team’s practices.
Bauer feels that despite the hardships of the last two summers, he is keeping his mind focused on following his dream of pitching at the college level.
“Mentally, I don’t let it affect me,” said Bauer. “I know I’m putting in the work and hoping for next year.”
Earning his way onto a college team is not going to be an easy task, and he knows losing basically two years of organized ball will make it even more difficult. He thinks his patience with the last two summers will come in handy as he gains experience and learns at the college level. That it may take a year or two to earn a spot on the varsity is not a deterrent in any way.
“I’m going to walk-on at Northern next year,” said Bauer. “I’m looking forward to the experience and learning from coaches and older players.”
He said he heard that Northern plans on adding junior varsity to its baseball program, adding that would be a great opportunity for him to work on his craft.
Speaking of his craft, Bauer has a four-pitch repertoire. He throws a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup.
“My curveball is my favorite,” said Bauer. “I’m working on some changes with my breaking pitches.”
For so young a man, Bauer has been pitching for quite a while. In fact, he’s been on the mound ever since the first year he played at a level that did not have coach/parent pitching.
“I’ve always been a pitcher,” said Bauer. “It was probably when I was 12 or 13 that I really started focusing on pitching. There’s something about pitching. When I’m out there on the mound I’m not nervous at all, but when I’m playing another position, I’m out there like, ‘don’t hit it to me!’”
It got interesting late last week when on Saturday, the South Dakota Legion baseball commissioners decided to allow a season with certain strict guidelines, but on Sunday it was announced that the American Legion baseball season was being cancelled nationwide.
Bauer said that, of course, getting to have a season this year would have been ideal, but that won’t stop him from getting on the mound. And then, on Monday night the Mobridge coaches decided it was time to make the call for baseball players. What kind of season it will be is unknown, but soon the kids of Mobridge will be on the diamond preparing for some kind of a season.
The son of Nate and Alana Bauer has had his dad doing some catching for him, but he’s excited about the prospect of getting on the field with teammates.
While the prospects of a season have just made a turn for the better, Bauer will remain realistic and will be ready to pitch, “Even if it’s just simulated games,” said Bauer.
Not even a pandemic cannot stop him from reaching for the stars.

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