Anoka Ramsey will finally get a chance to play Itasca this season, and it will happen Friday afternoon (May 1) in the first round of the MCAC tournament in St. Cloud.

Itasca is the No. 2 seed and Anoka Ramsey No. 7 in the tournament. The game is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start. Win or lose that first-round game, Anoka Ramsey will face either Northland or MSCTC-Fergus Falls in its second game at 7:30 p.m.

When the season was about to begin in late March, Itasca was scheduled to be Anoka Ramsey’s first opponent of the season. Poor field conditions forced a postponement and subsequent make-up dates could not be worked out.

Itasca comes into the conference tournament with a 24-18 overall record and won the MCAC’s Northern Division with a 12-4 record. Anoka Ramsey, meantime, which lost its spring trip opportunity, then several early season games to bad weather, played considerably fewer games — 23 — finishing 10-13 overall. It was 8-6 in the Central Division, however.

Riverland College of Austin was the top seed for the tournament and opens MCAC play against No. 8 seed Ridgewater. MSCTC-Fergus Falls was the No. 3 seed and faces Northland in the first round, while Dakota County Technical College and Mesabi Range were the No. 4 and 5 seeds and are first-round opponents as well…