Brody Anderson adds to legend as East Grand Forks advances

By John Sherman
Brody Anderson of East Grand Forks wears a dusty-looking jersey after sliding during an 8-6 victory over St. Michael on July 31.

ST. MICHAEL — Most American Legion Baseball players love to slide, but most of them don’t get as many opportunities as East Grand Forks’ Brody Anderson.

One fan watching East Grand Forks’ 8-6 State Tournament victory over St. Michael Thursday afternoon in St. Michael suggested “Dusty” as a new nickname for Anderson. He slid into bases twice on the key play of the game. The first slide at second base gave him his second double of the game in the sixth inning. Then when he saw a chance to take third on an errant throw, he slid again. Going into bases head-first left his uniform top dusty, and he had a big smile on his face because his second double broke a 6-6 deadlock.

Anderson described that key double: “I saw the right fielder running over to the line and I thought he would get it. The ball popped out of his glove and when the throw went past the cut-off man, I was able to take third.”

Had Anderson had any similar hits in other playoff situations?

“In the sub-section against Fergus Falls this year, I had a two-on, two-out hit,” he said.

Fergus Falls was a higher-ranked team than East Grand Forks in Scheels State-Wide Legion Poll, but East Grand prevailed and earned the trip to state, along with Alexandria, another quality team from Northwest Minnesota.

“There is really good competition up North,” Anderson said. The Moorhead Blues were another Northwest team in the running for a state berth this summer.

Brody Anderson, who will graduate from high school next year, tied 2024 graduate Levi Anderson for the second most hits for East Grand Forks during the regular season. Each of the Anderson’s had 34. At 5-10 and 200 pounds, Brody’s main positions are catcher and third base.

Parker Erickson, a 2025 graduate, had 37 regular-season hits. His batting average of .339 was second to Brody Anderson’s team-leading .382 mark.

The win over St. Michael boosted East Grand Forks’ season record to 23-12. Top pitchers for East Grand are Noah Frize (4-0), Carson McDonald (4-2) and Rylee Harris (4-3). Erickson’s pitching mark is 3-3 and he has the most innings pitched with 40.