Catcher David Larson returns from college for final season with Grand Forks Royals
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 2—GRAND FORKS — David Larson went to college at Creighton thinking he'd walk on for the baseball team.
Then he found out the Blue Jays' club hockey team didn't have a goaltender.
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"I never really had a chance of playing baseball there, so I decided to switch," Larson said. "It's been great ever since."
The East Grand Forks Sacred Heart graduate will head into his sophomore year of college as the club team's starting goaltender.
Larson is still getting his fill of baseball while he's back home for the summer, though. He's in the midst of his fourth season with the Grand Forks Royals.
Larson is still 18 years old. This will be his final year playing American Legion baseball.
"It's the last baseball season of my career, this is it," Larson said. "It kind of sucks, but at least I'm going out with a good group of guys. It's fun playing with them."
Larson has been the Royals' starting catcher in all but three games this season.
"Your receiver's always your defensive leader," Grand Forks head coach Nick Chine said. "Everybody looks towards him for a reason. He's been really nice to have back after his first year in college. It was a real blessing to have him and his leadership and his maturity."
Larson started in both games of Grand Forks'
doubleheader split against Mandan
on Tuesday evening.
Beyond his role as the Royals' go-to catcher, Larson has also produced at the plate this season. He collected two hits in game one, and in game two, Larson finished with a hit, a run and a walk.
"We were just seeing pitches well out of the hand," Larson said. "We had some chances that we didn't capitalize on, but for the most part, anything out of the hand we saw really well. We kept the barrel through the zone and put good swings on them."
The Royals moved to 12-10 with the split, and they've won three of their last four.
"The boys are up," Larson said. "We're leaving runners in scoring position, but we're swinging the bat well. This is a good group of guys, we all help each other out."
Larson was a longtime catcher at Sacred Heart as well. He played as an eighth-grader and became a starter as a freshman.
Though he'll miss playing baseball next year, club hockey has given him another shot at a sport he loves.
Larson played hockey at Crookston during high school. His prep career was plagued by injuries to his Achilles, ACL and meniscus.
Larson played in five games during his senior year as a backup goaltender.
In his freshman year playing for Creighton's Premier Club hockey team, which competes in Division II of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Larson played in 10 games.
The Blue Jays struggled with a smaller roster — Larson finished with an .804 save percentage and 11.22 goals against average, according to
— but he still enjoyed the experience.
"It wasn't great, I gave up a lot of goals," Larson said. "But it's fun to be out there."