Blowouts rule suprising day

Sports Editor

With the top five teams in the state going head-to-head, the opening day of the ND American Legion Baseball State Seeding Tournament should have been some nail-biters, but instead it was a day for blowouts.

Three of the 10 scheduled games of the round robin format were played and decided by no less than seven runs a game.

Williston capped the first day of play at Aafedt Stadium with a 10-3 defeat of Fargo, while Bismarck handled Minot 12-3, and Dickinson thumped Fargo 23-4 in the day's opener.

"None of the games are must-win, but it's a confidence thing and we got a pretty good start against Minot, a great team with a lot of tradition," said Bismarck's Zach Wentz, who got it done with his arm and his bat for the Governors.

In today's play, Williston plays Minot at 1 p.m., Fargo and Bismarck go at 4 p.m., and Williston and Dickinson square off at 7 p.m.

In Saturday's action, Dickinson and Minot play at 10 a.m., Williston versus Bismarck at 1 p.m., Fargo takes on Minot at 4 p.m., and Dickinson caps the tourney against Bismarck at 7 p.m.

Williston 10, Fargo 3

The Keybirds had to show some patience against Fargo as Williston starter Eric Olson played from behind and the Williston bats took a few innings to find the groove.

Olson gave up back-to-back hits by Christian Barnum and Brady Meyers and was hit with a balk to allow two Fargo runs in the third inning as the Keybirds trailed.

Williston had just one hit in the first three innings, a lead-off single by Shawn Egge, but broke out with a seven-hit, seven-run fourth inning, which included a two-run double by Egge, and RBI hits from Doug Richter and Jeff Skadeland.

"With a hard throwing pitcher like that, it was just a matter of getting our timing down and once we saw him the first time, then we knew we could hit him," said

Egge, who led the Williston bats, going 3-for-4 on the day, with two runs and three RBIs and was just a triple short of hitting for the cycle.

Olson then settled in to allow just one more Fargo run and took the Keybirds deep into the game, finally stepping aside for reliever Jarrett Duchscher with one out in the eighth.

"I was amazed at how far Eric got us into the game. I told him if he got that first guy out he'd be fine. He knew he'd get hit hard now and then, but he kept after it," said Williston coach Chip Devlin.

Olson surprised even himself, not only be getting the start for the tournament, but by pitching seven strong innings, which would be equivalent to a complete game over the regular season.

"I didn't really think I'd get that far into this game and I was kind of surprised I was starting. After I got behind coach just told me to keep throwing strikes and when we got the lead, it got a lot easier," said Olson.

He said his arm was still feeling okay when he left the game.

Olson got the win with 7 1/3 innings pitched, including four walks and three strikeouts, and gave up just three runs on nine hits.

The Williston defense also lent him a hand with three double plays, one of which was a circus act by second baseman Jordan Braun, who did a pirouette to snag a bleeder that appeared it may sneak over his head, and then he had enough left to get the man on first for the two outs.

First baseman Trevor Sorenson also had a nice over-the-head catch.

"Our defense made some good plays and some good catches, and then we got some timely hitting. The only thing we could improve on is to score in five or six innings instead of three," said Coach Devlin.

Egge added one score in the sixth with a monster shot to straightaway center, which nearly clipped the big flag pole which sports the oversized American flag.

"I didn't think it was going to go out at first, but then it was a home run I guess," said Egge. "I was seeing the ball real easy tonight, I felt the groove after my first hit."

The Keybirds tacked on two more runs in the seventh as Jake Axtman, who just missed a home run going just left of the foul pole in left, hit the fence for an RBI double to cap the home team's scoring.

Also at the plate for Williston, Sorenson went 3-5, scored once and added two RBIs, and James Laqua was 2-4 with two runs.

Meyers went 3-3 with an RBI for Fargo, while Barnum was 2-5, and Matt Lee went 2-3 with two runs.

Fargo 002 010 000 - 3 10 4

Williston 000 701 200 - 10 12 1

Bryant Larson, Anthony Schutz (5) and Andy Schweigert. Eric Olson, Jarrett Duchscher (8) and Doug Richter. W - Olson, L - Larson. HR - Williston, Shawn Egge. 2B - Fargo, Kyle Kingsley, Schweigert. Williston, Egge.

Bismarck 12, Minot 3

After giving up a couple of early runs, Wentz made sure the Govs secured an opening win by shutting down the Minot offense for four innings, and put a few runs of his own on the board with three RBIs.

"As a leader on the team, it's great to be able to do both, pitch well and hit well, and it really picks each other up," said Wentz.

Bismarck struck first with a solo home run by Cody Erhardt, who had a hot bat all day, for a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Minot answered with Zac Elgie who got an unlikely triple when three Govs couldn't find the ball in shallow left field and no one was covering third. He scored on a single by Ryan Bollinger to knot the game.

However, in the second, the Bismarck bats got to Minot starter Clay Kallias with five hits, four of which came with two outs, to put up four runs. Jon Hausauer and Erhardt smacked back-to-back doubles and Wentz's RBI capped the inning for a 5-1 lead.

Bollinger got one run back in the third with an opposite field home run off Wentz, but then Wentz shut the door until leaving at the end of seven.

"He (Bollinger) just made a good swing on a first pitch. I didn't expect him to be so aggressive," said Wentz.

Wentz came back to strike out the side in the fourth and gave up just one hit in the next three innings. "I just started hitting my spots better and once you have a lead, it's a lot easier and you have more confidence," said Wentz.

"Zach is going to battle every batter and he's been around long enough that he's not going to let one or two hits rattle him," said Bismarck coach Mike Skytland.

Wentz went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits, struck out nine and walked just two.

In the sixth inning, he capped a four-run outburst with a two-run home run. In the ninth, Bismarck added three more runs, highlighted by a two-run shot from Hunter Johnson.

"We had some pretty good at-bats and you couldn't ask for more. The big hits really loosen you up," said Skytland.

Erhardt has the loosest bat, going 4-for-5, with a homer, a double and two singles, scoring three times and batting in three runs. Wentz was 2-2 with a run and walked three times, while Hausauer was 2-5 with two runs, Taylor Isakson went 2-4 and Tyler Peterson scored twice.

Bollinger went 3-4 to lead Minot, with two RBIs and a run scored, while Elgie was 1-3 with two runs, and Dane Towery went 1-1.

Bismarck 140 004 003 0 - 12 14 2

Minot 101 000 010 x - 3 7 5

Zach Wentz, Jon Herold (8) and Taylor Isakson. Clay Kallias, Don Allard (7) and Ben Kramer. W - Wentz, L - Kallias. HR - Bismarck, Cody Erhardt, Wentz, Hunter Johnson. Minot, Ryan Bollinger. 3B - Minot, Zac Elgie. 2B - Bismarck, Jon Hausauer, Erhardt, Matt Chuppe.

Dickinson 23, Fargo 4

Overlooked in a lopsided affair was a pretty solid pitching performance by Kyle Shroeder. He gave up four runs, but only two were earned as he went six innings, striking out six and walking three to collect the win.

Dickinson jumped out to a 5-0 lead when Travis Tooley capped a four-run second with a two-run single.

Fargo managed two runs in the bottom of the second as Mike Jones drilled a two-run double, but that would be all Post 2 would get until the sixth, when it was already tipping in Dickinson's favor.

Holding a 7-2 advantage going into the top of the sixth, Dickinson's Cole Frenzel and Ben Herauf hit back-to-back homers to lead off the inning which saw the Roughriders plate six runs for a commanding 13-2 lead.

It was Frenzel's second long ball of the day after he had given Dickinson a 1-0 lead in the first with a solo effort.

Fargo answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Roughriders put the game away with a 10-run seventh, with just three hits, taking advantage of seven walks and a hit batsman.

Lead-off man Tyler Steffan went 4-5 with three RBIs and two runs for Dickinson, while Frenzel was 3-4 with two homers, three runs and four RBIs, and Herauf went 1-4 with three runs and two RBIs.

Tooley added four RBIs, Jackson Wandler was 2-3 with four runs and an RBI, Ryan Jones was 2-5 with a double, two runs and two RBIs, Michael Steve went 2-2 with two RBIs, four walks and four runs, and Andy Tomonek scored three times and added two RBIs.

Fargo's Kyle Kingsley was 2-4 with a run and RBI and Mike Jones was 1-2 with a run and two RBIs.

Dickinson 140 206 (10) - 23 15 2

Fargo 020 002 0 - 4 9 2

Kyle Schroeder, Kyle Breen (7) and Michael Steve. Ryan Messerschmidt, Sam Hirchert (5), Matt Lee (6), Zach Noriega (7) and Mike Jones. W - Schroeder, L - Messerschmidt. HR - Dickinson, Cole Frenzel 2, Ben Herauf. 2B - Fargo, Mike Jones. Dickinson, Jackson Wandler, Ryan Jones.

NOTES: Each team will play two games on one of the days of the tournament. The round robin play will determine seeds for the state tournament in Minot starting Wednesday.