Tanner Boe is back for one last American Legion baseball campaign this summer.

And like anyone in his shoes, the veteran Beulah Cyclone wants to make it a memorable one.

"It's my last year and I've set some high goals," he said. "I want it to be special because there isn't going to be a next year."

Boe would take a season like the one the Cyclones had in 2007. His bat and right arm helped Beulah to a 45-9 record and a trip to the Class B state tournament. The Cyclones went 3-2 in state-tournament play, finishing third.

"We had a great year, and going back to state is our main goal again," Boe said. "We lost some big players from last year, but I think we have a good chance of making it back with the team we have. We just have to take it one week at a time and be ready to play our best when the tournaments start."

Boe, who will turn 19 later this month, was a major two-way threat for the Cyclones last summer.

At the plate, he led Beulah with 24 extra-base hits - five home runs and 19 doubles. He batted .338 with 40 runs batted in and 59 runs scored.

"Tanner was so solid in the number six spot," Beulah coach Reid Flaagan said. "He came into (last) year a lot stronger and swinging the bat a little better. Having that pop in that part of the order was a big plus for us."

Boe was a standout on the mound as well. After seeing only limited action in 2006, he went 8-3 with a 3.08 earned run average in 632/3 innings. He won two games in the state tournament, one as a starter and another as a reliever.

"Tanner has a good fastball and curveball, and he does a nice job mixing it up," Flaagan said. "We were pretty deep in pitching last year, and he was number four in the rotation. But he'll be our number one guy this summer."

Boe said last year's success was the result of good, old-fashioned hard work.

"If you want to be good at something, you have to work at it," he said. "I've always played with guys who have put a lot of time into it. We've always had good Legion teams here and there's a reason for that."

Boe, a 2007 Beulah High School graduate, is one of six current Cyclones who saw extensive action last summer. Other returning regulars are Levi Lawson (.356, 6 triples, 34 RBIs), Ryan Koch (.267, 26 RBIs) and Dane Johansen (.265, 25 RBIs, 64 runs). Levi Jurgens (.293, 23 RBIs) and Ben Maliske (.260, 20 RBIs) alternated at the No. 9 spot in the order, but both will be full-timers this summer.

A solid core of players, plus some promising newcomers from last year's Babe Ruth state tournament team give Boe and the Cyclones reason to be optimistic.

However, Beulah has some big shoes to fill. Gone are Ike Michaelson, Casey Hausauer, Tyler Bauman and Brian Haugstad, who combined for 79 extra-base hits and 178 RBIs last year.

"You can't replace guys like that. … They were great players, and they were around a long time," Boe said. "But we have some good, experienced players back, and the new kids have lots of potential. If they come around, we should be fine."

Beulah's biggest concern at the moment is pitching. Hausauer, Bauman, Haugstad, Evan Flemmer and Dalen Foth combined for 32 victories and 2262/3 of the team's 341 innings in 2007.

Boe, Koch (4-0, 3.50 ERA, 24 innings) and Lawson (1-1, 4.82 ERA, 242/3 innings) are the only ones on the current roster who logged any innings in 2007.

"We play a grueling schedule and you need a lot of arms to get through it," Boe said. "That's one of the things we have to work on. We have guys who can throw. We just have to hang in there and focus on getting better."

Flaagan said he'll use this weekend's "B" Classic at Bismarck's Municipal Ballpark as a testing ground for his younger pitchers.

"We'll be playing four games at Bismarck, so we're going to try a lot of different kids out there," he said. "This weekend will be a good opportunity to see where we're at with pitching … and other parts of our game."

Beulah went 4-0 to win last year's "B" Classic. Linton, Harvey, Enderlin, the Mandan A's, the Dickinson Roughriders, the Bismarck Reps and Bismarck Babe Ruth also will be on hand for the three-day event, which begins today.

American Legion "B" Classic

At Municipal Ballpark, Bismarck

Pool A

Bismarck Reps, Enderlin, Linton, Harvey.

Pool B

Beulah Cyclones, Dickinson Roughriders, Mandan A's, Bismarck Babe Ruth.

Schedule

Friday, June 6

Mandan vs. Beulah, 9 a.m.

Beulah vs. Bismarck BR, 11:15 a.m.

Dickinson vs. Bismarck BR, 1:30 p.m.

Enderlin vs. Bismarck Reps, 3:45 p.m.

Enderlin vs. Harvey, 6 p.m.

Linton vs. Harvey, 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, June 7

Mandan vs. Bisamrck Reps, 9 a.m.

Dickinson vs. Mandan, 11:15 a.m.

Beulah vs. Dickinson, 1:30 p.m.

Harvey vs. Bismarck Reps, 3:45 p.m.

Linton vs. Bismarck Reps, 6 p.m.

Linton vs. Enderlin, 8:15 p.m.

Sunday, June 8

Seventh place: Pool A #4 vs. Pool B #4, 10 a.m.

Fifth place: Pool A #3 vs. Pool B #3, 12:15 p.m.

Third place: Pool A #2 vs. Pool B #2, 2:30 p.m.

Championship: Pool A #1 vs. Pool B #1, 4:45 p.m.