Post 14 rolls to tourney title

Getting and staying over the .500 mark was a goal for Jamestown Post 14 heading into the weekend.

Well, mission accomplished.

Post 14 served as rude hosts for its annual July tournament, blitzing the five-team field for a perfect 5-0 record capped by a 5-3 win over Saskatoon on a sweltering afternoon at Jack Brown Stadium on Sunday.

The win over Saskatoon, which took just one hour and 19 minutes in the searing summer heat, pushed Post 14’s season record to 15-9 heading into the stretch run of the regular season. In its 5-0 weekend showing Jamestown outscored its opponents 37-15.

“You have to be pleased with how the guys played overall,” said coach Shane Schoeneberg. “We always talk about playing your best late in the season. We feel like we’re starting to do that at the right time.”

Post 14’s pitching was strong all weekend.

Rubber-armed Kasey Gengler fired six more strong innings in the championship game, scattering just five hits. Only one of the three runs he allowed was earned.

Gengler fired a one-hit shutout in the tournament opener Friday and was nearly as effective Sunday.

“He pitched the championship game last year when we lost to Coon Rapids (Minn.) 2-1,” Schoeneberg said. “He wanted the ball and did a really nice job for us.”

Gengler’s strong outing followed back-to-back complete games by Danny Fischer Saturday (8-1 over Saskatoon) and Brady Anderson’s seven-inning effort against the Fargo Expos (9-5) earlier Sunday.

Anderson played a big part offensively as well.

He scored the initial run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first and then got to trot around the bases after clubbing a solo home run in the third. Anderson singled in Danny Fischer in fifth and finished 2-for-2 with a walk. Fischer was on base all three times with a pair of walks and a single.

Joey Gebhardt came through with a two-out single in the sixth to plate Tyler Ukestad that made it 5-3 after Saskatoon had climbed within one on a two-run single by Cole Koester in the top of the inning.

Stilwell, who pitched a scoreless seventh to nail down the save, had the other Jamestown hit.

“The guys have really bought into not caring about anything other than wins and losses,” Schoeneberg said. “They’ve done a good job of thinking about what it’s going to take for the team to be successful and not worried about themselves individually.

“If we can continue to take that approach I think we have a chance to some damage late in the season.”

Post 14 has a couple days off before back-to-back home dates Thursday and Friday. Bismarck is here Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader before they play Coon Rapids in one game Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Williston will play Coon Rapids here at 5:30 p.m.

Post 14 Invitational

Championship game

Jamestown 5, Saskatoon 3

Saskatoon 000 102 0 — 3 5 3

Jamestown 101 021 x — 5 5 2

Brett Doepker and Brayden Resch. Kasey Gengler, Jake Stilwell (7) and Joey Gebhardt. W—Gengler. L—Doepker. Save—Stilwell. HR—Jamestown, Brady Anderson.

Other tournament scores

Saturday

Saskatoon 6, Beulah 0

Groton, S.D. 10, Fargo Expos 7

Groton 13, Beulah 1

Jamestown 8, Saskatoon 1

Sunday

Saskatoon 7, Groton 6

Jamestown 9, Fargo Expos 5

Jamestown 5, Saskatoon 3

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, legion, baseball