Williston wins with 9th inning rally

One inning.

That’s all it takes to decide a team’s season once the state tournament comes around.

Jamestown entered the ninth inning in a 4-all knot but Williston’s Oliver Sogard slapped a single up the right side to score two runs and lift the Keybirds to a 6-4 win on Thursday at the state Class A American Legion baseball tournament in Bismarck.

“I thought everyone played really well,” said Jamestown coach Shane Schoeneberg. “We just caught an unfortunate break at the end of the game. That’s the way baseball goes.”

Jamestown, the No. 3 seed from the East, fell to Minot in Wednesday’s opener, forcing Post 14 to put its season on the line against No. 4-seeded Williston on Thursday.

Dakotah Walker had a solid day on the hill for Post 14 but Williston compiled just enough offense to chase him off the mound in the ninth and saddle him with the loss.

“I thought Dakotah Walker had his best outing of the year,” Schoeneberg said.

Jordan Piatz took over in the ninth and closed out the game for Jamestown.

Williston threw three different pitchers at Post 14, starting with Josh Solem, it was reliever Austin Grunstad, who came into the game in the sixth, that came away with the victory. Alex Hanson, Williston’s final pitcher of the day, came into the game in the ninth and sealed the deal with a scoreless inning to record the save.

Piatz carried a bulk of the offensive load for Jamestown (14-28) by going 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Jake Stilwell and Tim Smith also went 2 for 4 as well. Brandon Gange went 1 for 5 with a double, marking the only other extra base hit Post 14 had in the game.

Cory Vinger and Sogard teamed up to pace the offense for Williston.

Vinger went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs, while Sogard’s crucial two-RBI single was his only hit in the game. Grunstad, C.J. Vinger and Hanson had two hits apiece.

“We had our ups and downs,” Schoeneberg said of Post 14’s season. “But I honestly believe we were playing our best ball at the end of the year.”

Williston (20-21) will continue to make its way through the consolation bracket today against the loser of No. 1 Bismarck/No. 2 Fargo at 4 p.m. The Bismarck/Fargo matchup was played Thursday night but the game was not finished by the time this edition of the Jamestown Sun went to press.

Mandan 12, Grand Forks 0

Mandan had everything working at the right time.

In a loser-out contest with Grand Forks on Thursday, the Chiefs peppered the Grand Forks pitching staff for 12 runs on 19 hits to defeat the Royals 12-0.

Jay Flaa pitched the complete-game shutout for Mandan giving up four hits and seven walks over seven innings of work.

Reid Jungling, Aaron Janz and Andy Conlon supplied most of the offense for the Chiefs (35-21).

Jungling went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs, while Janz drove in a pair of runs after going 4 for 5. Conlon had three hits and also recorded two RBIs.

Sam Salverson went 3 for 4 with an RBI and Dwight Mack went 2 for 4 with a run driven in.

Erick Huderle suffered the loss for Grand Forks (18-19) after he failed to get through six innings on the mound.

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

Williston 6, Jamestown 4

Williston 000 103 002 — 6 14 4

Jamestown 010 003 000 — 4 9 2

Josh Solem, Austin Grunstad (6), Alex Hanson (9) and Oliver Sogard. Dakotah Walker, Jordan Piatz (9) and Brady Anderson. W—Grunstad. L—Walker. S—Hanson. 2B: W—Grunstad; J—Piatz, Brandon Gange. HR: W—Cory Vinger.

Record: Williston 20-21, Jamestown 14-28.

Mandan 12, Grand Forks 0

Mandan 100 034 4 — 12 19 1

Grand Forks 000 000 0 — 0 4 5

Jay Flaa and Steve Serr. Erick Huderle, Taylor Steen (6), Derek Olson (7) and Steen, Casey Purpur (6). W—Flaa. L—Huderle. 2B: M—Sam Salverson. HR – M, Reid Jungling.

Records: Mandan 35-21, Grand Forks 18-19.

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

Tags: legion baseball, class a, sports, baseball, jamestown, williston