MINOT, N.D. -- The Minot State University baseball team will celebrate and honor the life of Justin Demary on Apr. 24-25 at Corbett Field. The first pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday. 

Join us on Saturday, Apr. 24, and Sunday, April 25 as we remember the legacy of Justin Demary. His mother and girlfriend will be throwing out the first pitch as well as receiving his jersey to commemorate JD's life.

Demary recorded 135.1-career innings from the mound for the Beavers while making 25 appearances including 20 starts with a record of 11-7 along with two saves. He played in a total of 82 games as a hitter and posted a career-batting average of .298 with four-career home runs and 29-career RBI. He slugged .429 and reached base at a .407 clip over his two seasons with Minot State baseball. 

He passed away tragically on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. He was born on May 10, 1995, in Lake Charles, La., raised in Grand Lake, La., and later moved to Iowa, La., where he graduated from Iowa High School in 2013. He attended Pearl River Community College and graduated from Minot State University, where he received his degree in Corporate Fitness with a minor in Spanish.

Justin was a Nationally Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), previously worked for Heilman's Performance, and later at Driveline Baseball in Kent, Wash. He hit a home run when he landed his dream job as a strength and conditioning coach in the Boston Red Sox minor league system until the pandemic cut his dreams short and he returned home. 

He was an accomplished baseball player. He played on various travel baseball teams throughout his life, for Grand Lake and Iowa High Schools and as #6 for Pearl River Community College, Minot State University, Acadiana Cane Cutters, and BCBL in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Although Justin was an only child, his friends were his brothers, whether from baseball, hunting, or fishing. He enjoyed time spent with the Haydels Duck Hunting Community, loved hunting and fishing at all the various places he lived and was great at all that he put his heart and soul into. Justin will truly be remembered as a hard worker, great listener, and an amazing guy with a beautiful soul; to know him was to love him. He served as a role model to many and will forever be missed.