Shipman on All-State team

Grady Shipman's dogged intensity, IQ on the field and drive to succeed, along with trusting his natural abilities, helped him secure a spot on North Dakota's select Class B hardball squad.

The Carrington junior was one of 18 boys named to the 2023 All-State Baseball First Team, sponsored by the North Dakota High School Coaches Association (NDHSCA). An additional 14 players were named to the Second Team.

Grady, the son of CHS Coach Wayne and Denise Shipman, batted .533 with four home runs and 22 runs batted in (RBI), and got on base at a .608 clip while racking up an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.625. Along with that, he stole 17 bases and scored 27 runs, while striking out just four times in 74 plate appearances.

He was also the team's ace on the mound, with a record of 5-1 with an earned run average (ERA) of 2.87. He struck out 65 hitters during the spring season in 31.2 innings pitched, walking only nine.

Even with all that time devoted to baseball, Shipman also took time to excel in another spring sport, qualifying for the State Class B golf meet with a score of 75 at the Region 2 team qualifier at CrossRoads (see related article).

Shipman was the only player from Region 3 to make either All-State team not from LaMoure/Litchville-Marion. The state runner-up Loboes had three players make All-State honors, with Connor Johnson and Tate Mart making the First Team and Anthony Hanson on the Second Team.

A full list of All-State Baseball honorees from Class B teams in the spring high school season are as follows:

Class B Baseball

All-State Team

First Team

Bishop Ryan: Carson Merck (SR); Carrington: Grady Shipman (JR); Des Lacs-Burlington: Carson Yale (SR) and Paxton Ystaas (JR); Grafton: Tony Villarreal (JR); Hillsboro/Central Valley: Cole Hebl (SR); Kindred: Masen Allmaras (SR); LaMoure/Litchville-Marion: Connor Johnson (SR) and Tate Mart (SR); Langdon/Edmore/Munich: Jack Romfo (SR); Northern Cass: Keegan Neva (SR); North Star: Dane Hagler (JR); Rugby: Brody Schneibel (SR); Shiloh Christian: Michael Fagerland (JR) and Trace King (SR); Surrey/Our Redeemer's: Noah Erickson (SR) and Coltan Francis (SR); Thompson: Brayden Wolfgram (JR).

Second Team

Bishop Ryan: Drew Zwak (SO); Bottineau: Carson Haerer (JR); Des Lacs-Burlington: Rylan Olson (SR); Hatton/Northwood: Derek Carpenter (JR); Hazen: Tyson Wick (JR); LaMoure/Litchville-Marion: Anthony Hanson (SR); Langdon/Edmore/Munich: Carter Tetrault (SR) and Mason Romfo (JR); May-Port-CG: Marshall Judisch (JR) and Landon Koenig (SR); Renville County: Kellan Henry (JR); Shiloh Christian: Eli Thompson (JR); Thompson: Reece Berberich (SR); Velva/Drake-Anamoose: Hank Bodine (SO).