Vistas outslug Post 14 in opener

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With high hopes heading into the state Class A American Legion baseball tournament, Jamestown Post 14 got off to a rough start.

The Minot Vistas pounded Jamestown’s pitchers for 15 hits and 10 runs as they defeated Post 14 10-5 on Wednesday to start the tournament.

Jamestown continued to hit the ball well, slugging 10 hits in the game, but it wasn’t enough against the No. 2 seed out of the West.

“I thought in every inning that we scored in we were just one or two hits from having a huge inning,” said Jamestown coach Shane Schoeneberg. “We hit some hard balls right at guys.”

Post 14, however, is no stranger to adversity.

Jamestown battled back in the East Division Regional Tournament last week in Fargo to earn a spot in the state tournament, and today Post 14 will be faced with the same situation.

Jamestown (14-27) will start its voyage through the consolation bracket today against Williston at 11 a.m. after the Keybirds fell to West Fargo 10-4 in the previous game. And with the season on the line, Schoeneberg said he is giving Dakotah Walker the start on the mound.

“Hopefully we can keep hitting the ball,” said Schoeneberg. “We just need to make the plays.”

Tim Smith suffered the loss for Jamestown after pitching five innings before being relieved by Riley Schafer in the sixth.

“He did a pretty decent job,” Schoeneberg said of Smith’s outing. “If there was one thing (he struggled with) it was getting his curveball over.”

Ben Magnuson earned the win for the Vistas after pitching seven strong innings before being relieved by Josh Melom in the eighth.

Jamestown backstop Brady Anderson was a sparkplug for Post 14 compiling four of the team’s 10 hits in the game. He also had an RBI. Schafer went 1 for 2 with an RBI and Jordan Piatz went 2 for 5.

Trevor Gust was the key cog in the Vistas’ offensive attack by going 3 for 5 with a double and two RBIs. Jordan Rubbelke and Darin Back also played their part by getting three hits apiece, while Jarid Hoffman and Dan Himmerick went 2 for 3 and 2 for 4, respectively.

Minot (30-17) will advance to play top-seeded West Fargo at 5 p.m.

West Fargo 10, Williston 4

Nobody had to remind West Fargo’s Bryce Jorgenson that it’s tournament time.

The slugger went 4 for 5 from the plate with three doubles and four RBIs to lead the Patriots to a 10-4 win over Williston on Wednesday in the opening round of the state Class A American Legion baseball tournament.

The Patriots (31-16) also got some offense from Chance Bitzer, who went 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Cole Mapes, who went 2 for 4 with one RBI.

Tanner Dahl was the winning pitcher after going seven innings allowing three runs (two earned) on 11 hits and two walks. He also struck out 11 batters.

C.J. Vinger started for Williston (19-21) and was tagged with the loss.

Jeff Beckman and Alex Hanson each went 2 for 4 with an RBI for Williston.

Fargo 6, Mandan 5

Brady Horner drove in two runs after going 1 for 4 from the dish to help Fargo squeak out a victory over Mandan 6-5 in the opening round of the state Class A American Legion baseball tournament on Wednesday at the Municipal Ballpark in Bismarck.

Mike Jones went 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI for Post 2, while Matt Achter went 2 for 5 with a run driven in.

Seth Hochstatter earned the win and Bryce Venaas earned the save.

Dwight Mack and Reid Jungling combined for three hits and four RBIs for Mandan.

State Class A American Legion Baseball Tournament at Municipal Ballpark in Bismarck

Minot 10, Jamestown 5

Jamestown 000 120 002 — 5 10 3

Minot 121 213 00X — 10 15 3

Tim Smith, Riley Schafer (6) and Brady Anderson. Ben Magnuson, Josh Melom (8) and Trevor Gust, W—Magnuson. L—Smith. 2B: M—Darin Back, Gust.

Records: Minot 30-17, Jamestown 14-27.

West?Fargo 10, Williston 4

Williston 001 011 001 — 4 11 2

West Fargo 021 023 02X — 10 12 1

C.J. Vinger, Austin Grunstad (6), Marcus Fearing (7) and Oliver Sogard. Tanner Dahl, Karson Mapes (8) and Tucker Bucholz. W—Dahl. L—Vinger. 2B: WF—Bryce Jorgenson 3.

Records: Williston 19-21, West Fargo 31-16.

Fargo 6, Mandan 5

Mandan 001 030 100 — 5 7 6

Fargo 002 030 10X — 6 9 3

Reid Jungling, Jordy Wenstrom (8) and Steve Serr; Seth Hochstatter, Bryce Venaas (8) and Matt Fiechtner. W—Hochstatter. L—Jungling. S—Venaas2B: F—Jared Quinlan. 3B: F—Mike Jones.

Records: Mandan 34-21, Fargo 24-28.

Sun sports writer David Griswold can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at dgriswold@jamestownsun.com

Tags: legion baseball, sports