Apple Valley Grad Finds Success at National Baseball Tournament

Apple Valley native Garrett Ganskie knew his team was in for a tough game when they were lined up to play against top-ranked Gloucester County, N.J., in the championship round of the 2013 NJCAA Division III Baseball World Series.

Ganskie's team, the Century College Wood Ducks, may have been defeated 16-4 in the final game of the Texas tournament, but there's plenty of silver lining for this up-and-coming baseball squad.

That's because the team, which didn't even exist four years ago, went 42-13 on the season and took second place in the eight-team national tournament.

The team, based at the community college's White Bear Lake campus, was founded in 2010 by Head Coach Dwight Kotila. A 15-year coach with seven appearances at the NJCAA World Series already under his belt, Kotila built Century College's program from scratch, recruiting many of its players from the metro area and western Wisconsin. The team finished the 2011-12 season with a 39-17 record.

After losing 9-0 in the opening round of the double elimination tournament, Century fought back. The Wood Ducks dispatched Montgomery, Md.; Nassau, N.Y.; Brookhaven, Tex.; and Waubonsee, Ill. to reach the championship game, where they were again defeated by Gloucester.

"Going into each game, we knew that we had to battle it out and get back to the championship game," Ganskie said.

The team's second place finish sits well with Ganskie, who graduated from Apple Valley High School last year. The freshman chose to play baseball at the two-year community college after weighing recruitment offers from Hamline University and Dakota County Technical College.

He plans to eventually pursue a career in law enforcement or as a pilot. But for now, he has baseball on the mind.

"I can’t say I’ve had a greater experience than going down to the World Series and seeing that much energy from all the teams," said Ganskie, who plans to play this summer with the local American Legion team. "Our team came together well … we’ll be back there again."