Post 14 falls in title game

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Defense didn’t do the Jamestown Legion baseball team many favors during the championship game of the Devils Lake Storm Classic on Sunday, but it was a bad hop that made the difference.

Wahpeton had runners on first and third with one out in the bottom of the eighth when a bad hop at shortstop allowed the winning run to score from third in Wahpeton’s 6-5 victory.

“I wouldn’t credit it as an error,” Jamestown coach Shane Schoeneberg said.

Jamestown did commit six errors in the game, but held a 5-4 lead after Post 14 struck for three in the top of the sixth. However, Wahp e t o n squeezed one across in the bottom of the seventh to send it into extra innings.

“Obviously, we would have liked to have won that last g a m e, ” Schoeneberg said. “Wahpeton, they’re a Class A team. I know they play Class B, but they’ve went to the Class A state tournament three years in a row in high school. They’ve got some kids that can throw the ball. They’re a pretty solid team.”

Jake Stilwell took the loss in relief of starter Kasey Gengler, who lasted five innings. Wahpeton’s Jeremy Bontjes was the winner in relief. Brady Anderson led the hitting attack for Jamestown with a double.

The loss evened Post 14’s record to 2-2 at the tournament and 9-8 overall.

It started in pool-play action, where Wahpeton opened the tournament with a 1-0 win over Jamestown thanks to a six-inning home run from Bontjes that stood as the only run of the game. It spoiled a brilliant effort from Jamestown starter Riley Schafer, who went all seven innings and allowed the one run on five hits, walking one and striking out six. Kasey Gengler had two of Jamestown’s four hits.

Jamestown met up with the Fargo Metro Expos in its other pool-play game, and it didn’t look promising to the average fan after the Expos jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first inning.

Schoeneberg said the squad wasn’t worried.

“A lot of it is collectively not getting too uptight,” Schoeneberg said. “You weren’t seeing any kid hanging their head. Everyone was upbeat.”

Fargo extended its lead to 7-1 in the third, but Jamestown exploded for six runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game. It added three more in the sixth and four more in the seventh to win handily 14-7. Tyler Ukestad pitched four innings of shutout ball in relief of Anderson. Ukestad also did most of the damage at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 with four RBIs and a double. Stilwell was 3-for-5, also posting four RBIs.

Jamestown, the No. 2 seed out of its pool, matched up against opposite pool top seed Rolette in a semifinal contest and won 7-3, never trailing. It scored two in the first and two in the third, and the closest Rolette got was in the bottom half of the third when it came back with three runs to cut the deficit to 4-3. Jamestown answered with a run in the fifth and two in the seventh.

Danny Fischer didn’t give up an earned run in the complete-game performance, scattering six hits without walking a batter. He had two strikeouts. Anderson had three hits, all doubles, while Stilwell was 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

Jamestown plays host to Aberdeen, S.D., on Tuesday before hosting the Bismarck Governors in a league doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Jack Brown Stadium. On Friday, Jamestown plays host to the three-day Post 14 Invitational.

Championship Wahpeton 6, Jamestown 5, 8 innings Jamestown 200 003 00 — 5 6 6 Wahpeton 003 010 11 — 6 8 3

Kasey Gengler, Jake Stilwell (6) and Joey Gebhardt. Tyler Gripentrog, Jeremy Bontjes (6) and catcher unavailable. W—Bontjes. L—Stilwell. Highlights: J, Brady Anderson 1-4, 2 R, RBI, Riley Schafer 1-3, 2 R, Stilwell 1-3, RBI, Danny Fischer 1-3, R, Ben Walz 1-3.W, Gripentrog 3-4, RBI, R.

Semifinal Jamestown 7, Rolette 3 Jamestown 202 010 2 — 7 7 2 Rolette 003 000 0 — 3 6 1

Danny Fischer and Joey Gebhardt. Rolette bat tery unavailable. W—Fischer. Highlights: J, Fischer 0-1, walk, 2 R, 7 IP, 3 R, ER, 6 H, 0 walks, 2 K, Stilwell 2-3, 4 RBIs, Brady Anderson 3-4, 3 2Bs, RBI, Riley Schafer 1-3, 2 R Nick Fuchs 1-3.

Pool-play round (2 games) Jamestown 14, Fargo Metro Expos 7 Jamestown 100 603 4 — 14 17 1 Fargo Metro 601 000 0 — 7 8 2

Brady Anderson, Tyler Ukestad (4) and Shaun Hogan. FM battery unavailable. W—Ukestad. HR: J, Jake Stilwell Highlights: J, Ukestad 4-5, 4 RBIs, R, 2B, 4 IP, R, 2 H, walk, K, Stilwell 3-5, 3 R, 4 RBIs, Danny Fischer 3-3, 2 RBIs, R, Hogan 2-4, R, RBI.

Wahpeton 1, Jamestown 0 Wahpeton 000 001 0 — 1 5 1

Jamestown 000 000 0 — 0 4 0 Riley Schafer and Joey Gebhardt.Wahpeton bat tery unavailable. L—Schafer. HR:W, Jeremy Bontjes Highlights: W, Jeremy Bontjes 2-3, R, RBI. J Schafer 1-3, 7 IP, R, ER, 5 H, walk, 6 Ks, Kasey Gengler 2-3, Tyler Ukestad 1-2.

Sun sports writer Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com

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