Alex Eisen/MDN Souris Valley Sabre Dogs head coach Corey Thompson waits around for an Expedition League game to start at Corbett Field in Minot.

Corey Thompson is the head coach for the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs in the Expedition League. Thompson is a native of Lakeland, Florida, and during the Sabre Dogs’ offseason he is an assistant baseball coach and recruiter for Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.

Thompson chatted with the Minot Daily News on Friday about the upcoming Expedition League season, state of the Sabre Dogs and classic baseball high jinks. Some responses are edited for brevity and clarity.

MDN: As of right now, the Expedition League is planning to get underway as scheduled on May 26. How much communication have you had with the league, and do you think the May 26 start date will hold up?

CT: I’ve talked with Steve (Wagner), the league president, probably once a week throughout this thing. Maybe even twice a week. We have been trying to do just that: narrow down a start date.

As of right now, we are still rolling with May 26. I foresee it probably being pushed back to June 1. But, if all of this clears up in the next month or so, I could see us starting on May 26, which I hope happens.

Everybody is ready to get back to it. I’m sure some Minot fans are ready to see some baseball, or any kind of activity really for that matter.

MDN: How do you think you and the team did recruiting wise in building this year’s roster for the Sabre Dogs?

CT: Pretty good, man. It sounds terrible, but the virus has done a lot of things for our league. NCAA is allowing seniors to come back, and everybody gets another year. So, with that being said, there are more players for the summer now.

We are getting big names and bigger name schools — a lot of Power Five schools — coming out. We should be pretty solid.

MDN: What will be some of the similarities or differences between the team this year in comparison to last year’s group?

CT: Well, we just got word that Mason Dinesen is coming back. He was our shortstop for the last two summers — league leader in stolen bases, fielding percentage the last two summers. That’s a big, big plus for us. I’m excited to have him back.

But, yeah, I think we are going to do the same things we have done the last two years, which is run bases really well and pitch. We are looking to steal bags at any chance, be aggressive and carry that out through this year as well.

MDN: What have you been up to recently?

CT: Man, just trying to stay busy with recruiting for my school (Spring Hill College), and that’s really it. Trying to do some odd and end jobs here to make a little bit of extra cash while I’m trying to stay busy. That’s the main thing.

MDN: What do you enjoy the most when you come up to Minot for the summer?

CT: That’s a loaded question there. Sometimes the food. It’s a little different than southern food, but it’s a good change. But, mostly, the fan interaction and the community up there.

My first year going up there, I didn’t think we would get the love that we got. Then, year No. 2 was incredible last year. I’m hoping to continue that tradition now with the fans. They come out and support us, and everybody knows everybody’s name on our roster. Mine as well, which is nice. It’s fun to see that win, lose or draw that there are fans waiting for our guy’s signatures after games. I can’t ask for anything more than that.

MDN: Any favorite places to go in Minot?

CT: Oh, yeah. What’s the little Irish spot downtown?

MDN: Ebeneezer’s?

CT: Yes, Ebeneezer’s. They have a great breakfast. I’m a big fan of that place. And also Qdoba. We don’t have Qdoba down here. It’s mainly Chipotle and Moe’s, but I think Qdoba is a little bit better.

MDN: What’s the most memorable baseball game you have been a part of, with the Sabre Dogs or elsewhere?

CT: Let’s go with up there. So, probably watching EJ Ranel play in 2018. That kid did a lot of things.

But, no, probably my most memorable game up there is we were playing Pierre (Trappers) at home. It was like the eighth inning, and we were down by one. Blake Ebo comes up and hits a home run.

The umpire rules that he was out because he didn’t touch home plate. I went out and got my money’s worth. I got tossed, and watched the rest of the game — the last two innings — from underneath the stadium.

Our guys rallied back and won in walk-off fashion. Chauncey Callier hit a double to right to win the game. Man, that was incredible. It was just really fun to watch. I didn’t have to manage the last two innings, and I just got to sit back and watch our guys play.

MDN: Let’s end on a fun one: Best dugout pranks?

CT: Oh, man. Hot foot is a good one. Basically, you take some athletic tape and string it out a little ways, about a foot. Put that on the back of somebody’s cleat. Be very gentle, and light it on fire.

Everybody starts laughing and all of that.

But, the best one I’ve seen from us, Brock Baughcum — my assistant coach now, but he played for me in 2018 — blew a big bubble and put it on Mason Dinesen’s helmet. Mason went up to bat with the bubble on his helmet.

Everybody got a kick out of that. Everybody was in on it. The catcher was laughing, the umpire was laughing and the fans were laughing at him.

MDN: When did he realize?

CT: He either got a hit, got walked, or somehow he got on. He stole second, and his helmet came off while he stole second base headfirst. That’s when he realized he had gum stuck on the top of his helmet.

That’s probably the best one I have seen.

MDN: Awesome. Well, that’s all the questions I got for you. Do you want to add anything else?

CT: I’m just excited to get up there and get back to Minot. And get back to baseball for us, the players and the community. I’m sure people are looking forward to getting out of the house after everything clears.

We are all looking forward to some baseball.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.