JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- Residents of this North Dakota town face a major league dilemma.

Do they cheer for the Minnesota Twins, the team they consider their own, or the Anaheim Angels, a team whose all-star center fielder Darin Erstad grew up in their city of 15,600, some 95 miles west of Fargo?

The Twins and the Angels were set to square off Tuesday in the first game of the American League championship series.

"I hope Darin hits .800 and the Twins win it in seven games,'' said Bill Nold, who coached Erstad in football at Jamestown High School. "I can't root against my Twins.''

Not so fast, says Larry Ukestad, the Jamestown High School principal who saw Erstad excel in football, hockey, track and baseball.

"I tell you what: I'm a Twins fan but I'm going to have to go with the Angels,'' Ukestad said. "When you know someone that well and see them succeed that much, you can't help but cheer for them.''

Erstad, the son of Chuck and Dorothy Erstad, grew up as a star athlete and honor student in Jamestown.

He was a state track champion in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. He was a finalist for North Dakota's Mr. Hockey award. In football, he was a linebacker, split end, punter and a kicker who once booted a 50-yard field goal in Fargo.

Erstad went on to kick and punt at the University of Nebraska, where he played on a national championship football team.

"He raised the level of play of everyone around him,'' Nold said. "And I can still see him doing that with the Angels.''

As a baseball player, Erstad played for Tom Gould's Babe Ruth team. During one season as a bat boy, Erstad was called into action when one of Gould's players got hurt.

Erstad once hit 18 home runs in an American Legion season. He was an All-American at Nebraska before becoming a first pick of the Angels in the Major League draft.

Erstad is finishing his sixth full season with the team and will become a free agent. He signed a one-year, $6.25 million contract last January.

"He's totally focused with whatever he does,'' said Gould, who had mixed feelings last week when the Angels were playing the New York Yankees in a division series.

"I'm a big Yankee fan, always have been,'' Gould said.

An Angels rally -- highlighted by Erstad's run-scoring double -- gave Anaheim a 9-6 victory and a 2-1 series lead. The next night, the Angels clinched the series, 9-5.

"The Yankees really didn't deserve to win, so I was really happy when Darin got that big hit,'' Gould said. "Knowing Darin, I'm sure he was on an incredible high.''

Russ Schmeichel, who coached Erstad in track and field, sees this week's series as a win-win situation for Jamestown residents.

"We can't lose now,'' Schmeichel said. "If the Twins win, great. If the Angels win, great.''