The Williston Keybirds' bats were quiet throughout much of Wednesday's opening-round game with West Fargo in the North Dakota Class A American Legion State Tournament in Wahpeton.
And much of that can be credited to West Fargo's Matt Strahm, who limited Williston to one hit through six innings, while striking out 11 Keybirds as the Patriots defeated Williston 11-4.
Strahm also pitched a three-hit shutout against the Keybirds on June 15 in Fargo.
"For some reason, he got away with it again," said Williston coach Chip Devlin. "I can't figure out why we can't hit him better." Strahm had the Keybirds on their heels from the get-go. The West Fargo lefty struck out the side in two of the first three innings.
"For some reason, he has our number," the Williston coach said.
The lone hit Strahm surrendered in the first six innings of the contest was a single by Doug Richter in the second. However, Richter was caught stealing on a 3-1 pitch to Jeff Skadeland.
A solo home run by Jared Reber in the second got West Fargo on the scoreboard. The Patriots' Tyler Gronbeck singled home Spencer Flaten in the third to add to the West Fargo lead. The Patriots also tacked on a single run in the fifth before breaking the game open with a three-run sixth.
"Baseball is a big momentum swing," Devlin said. "We gave them the momentum for two-thirds of the game. By the time we tried to come back, it was too late.'
Williston got on the scoreboard in the seventh. Jon Westphal singled home Richter, while C.J. Vinger doubled home Derrick Linghor.
West Fargo added three more runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to prevent any sort of a Williston rally.
"We've got to go after a team like that right away," Devlin said.
For the game, the West Fargo pitching staff combined to strikeout 14 Williston batters. Vinger was the only Keybird not to strikeout.
Eric Olson suffered the loss for Williston. He pitched the first five innings, giving up four runs on nine hits. It is Olson's first loss in two seasons of legion baseball.
Flaten finished 4-for-4 at the plate for West Fargo, including a home run, and he scored five runs. Reber finished 4-for-6 at the plate with two RBI. Both West Fargo batters were a triple short of the cycle.
Williston will face Bismarck this morning in an elimination game at 11 a.m. The Governors lost to Mandan, 18-9, in Wednesday's action.
Shawn Egge is expected to get the starting nod in today's game.
West Fargo 011 013 032 - 11 16 2
Williston 000 000 202 - 4 7 3
Williston pitching
Eric Olson 5 IP 4 R 9 H 2 K 1 BB 1 HP
Jeff Skadeland 2 IP 4 R 3 H 1 K 3 BB 1 HP
Shawn Egge 2 IP 3 R 4 H 4 BB 1 K
West Fargo pitching
Matt Strahm 6 2/3 IP 2 R 2 H 6 BB 11 K
Tyler Gronbeck 2 1/3 IP 2 R 5 H 1 BB 3 K
Williston hitting
C.J. Vinger 1-for-3 (2B), Jon Westphal 1-for-2
West Fargo hitting
Spencer Flaten 4-for-4 (2 BB, 2B, HR, 5 R), Jared Reber 4-for-6 (HR, 2B, 2 RBI
Comments