(photo – Flickertails pitcher Patrick Pridgen, courtesy of the Bismarck Larks)
As the Northwoods League season continues south of the border, the Mandan Flickertails currently sit in second place in the three-team North Dakota hub with a 16-8 record, 1/2 game behind the Bismarck Larks (15-6). The Bismarck Bull Moose are third with a 3-20 record. The Flickertails, who feature 17 players from the original 2020 Thunder Bay Border Cats roster, have reached the midway point of their 48-game schedule as they prepare for their next game Thursday night against the Larks.
The Flickertails have benefited from a balanced offensive attack as outfielder Damone Hale (Yavapai CC) leads the club with a .268 batting average and in stolen bases with 13 in 17 games. Catcher Cole Elvis (California-Berkeley) has shown good power at the plate with a team leading three home runs and 17 runs batted in.
On the mound, righthander Nick Hill (Nicholls State University) has appeared in five games, including four starts, and has a 2-1 record with one save and a stellar 1.69 earned run average. Lefthander John Farley (Eastern Kentucky University) has been superb out of the bullpen, going 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA in seven appearances. Another impressive pitcher has been freshman Clark Candiotti (St. Mary’s University). The 6’5″, 235 pound righthander is 2-1 in six games with a 4.15 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 21.2 innings pitched. Clark’s father is former major league pitcher Tom Candiotti, the knuckleballer who spent 16 years in the big leagues, including the 1991 season with the Toronto Blue Jays.
All of the players on the Flickertails 30-man roster will be eligible to play for the Border Cats next season, including an additional 11 Canadian born players who aren’t participating in Bismarck due to the closure of the Canada-United States border. Border Cats manager Mike Steed recruited the Border Cats/Flickertails team, however as he also remains in Canada, the club is being led by assistant coaches Kyle MacKinnon, Brendan Kelly and Joey Gamache. You can follow the Flickertails at www.northwoodsleague.com.
