Balas Buckmaster
After the worst series of his season, the dream of batting .400 looked to be in serious jeopardy for Anchorage’s Balas Buckmaster.
Then he hit paydirt in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
The Dickinson State University shortstop sizzled at the plate against Presentation College with three home runs and seven hits in 14 at-bats to bump his batting average to .416 in 40 games.
Buckmaster’s performance went a long way in securing his place in Alaska baseball history as only two players from the state have batted .400 at the college level.
The last time it happened was in 2017, when Anchorage’s Sagan Osborne hit .401 at Dickinson State, where he is currently a coach trying to help Buckmaster achieve the famed benchmark.
Things looked a little dicey during the Waldorf series the weekend before last when Buckmaster went 1-for-9 in three games to lower his average to .404. He also sat out a game to snap his streak of 37 consecutive appearances.
But Buckmaster bucked a recession and raked against Presentation pitching, raising his average 12 points. The junior 3-hole hitter homered in the first, third and fourth games of the series, giving him a career-high eight dingers.
Buckmaster has hit seven homers in his last 22 games. / Photo by Dickinson State Athletics
Buckmaster bashes a bomb every 14.1 at-bats, which is No. 1 in the NAIA conference.
The Alaskan also ranks fourth in the NSAA with a .690 slugging percentage, thanks to his 15 extra-base hits.
With the regular season finished, Dickinson State (20-26) begins the postseason Friday in the double-elimination North Star Athletic Association Conference Tournament with a first-round game against Mayville State.
Buckmaster is the NSAA’s leading hitter and has gone 6-for-17 (.353) in five games against Mayville State with a home run and five RBIs.