Tolna tops Twins: LaMoure joins Tolna in state semifinals

• Image

Talk about it

Tolna is back in the semifinals of the Class A state amateur baseball tournament.

Featuring a lineup of primarily former Dakota Prairie High School players and a couple Mayville ringers, Tolna banged out 15 hits en route to a 13-3 six-inning win over the New Rockford Twins.

In the second quarterfinal game Tuesday night at Jack Brown Stadium, LaMoure defeated Fairview, Mont., 4-3. Tolna and LaMoure will meet in the semifinals Thursday night.

Tolna 13, New Rockford 3

It wasn’t just small ball either for Tolna.

Christian Berry, a member of the Mayville State baseball team, clubbed a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. One inning earlier Berry had singled home Lucas Morken and his brother Alex Berry as part of a five-run fifth inning for Tolna.

Braydon Gourneau, a former Dakota Prairie standout, went all six on the mound, but did plenty of damage at the plate, too. Gourneau finished a perfect 4-for-4, with RBI-singles in the first and fifth innings and a run-scoring double in the fourth.

On the mound, Gourneau gave up a leadoff triple to Mason Haley, but little else from there. New Rockford had just four hits total. Gourneau walked three and struck out three.

Morken, another former DP Knight, added three hits in the win, including doubles in the third and fifth innings.

Elliott Belquist, the baseball coach at New Rockford High School, led the Twins with a single, walk and stolen base.

LaMoure 4, Fairview 3

Fairview gave LaMoure all it wanted, and the team based out of eastern Montana did it the hard way.

Three players failed to show up, leaving Fairview with eight men. It meant an automatic out every time the No. 9 spot came up in the order.

One of Fairview’s eight was longtime manager Jim Duffey, who looked pretty spry at 66 years old.

Fairview led 2-0 after scoring twice in the top of the first on back-to-back run-scoring singles by Derrick Lingor and Scott Sturgis scored Trevor Sorenson and Brennan Quintus.

LaMoure scored all four of its runs early. Gaige Dunn, a pitcher for the Jimmies, singled home Adam Wieland to cut Fairview’s lead in half in the bottom of the first.

LaMoure went ahead in the bottom of the second when Jared Pederson singled in JC basketball player Mark Hoge to tie it at 2-all. Later, Ben Holen, a utility infielder for the Jimmies, delivered a two-run single to chase in Matt Hebl and Brett Hample to put LaMoure up 4-2.

Wieland made it stand up. The former Barnes County North athlete, who played summer baseball in Jamestown, went six solid innings on the mound. Wieland allowed just five hits with five strikeouts. Aaron Stemen, who had a ringing double in the fifth for LaMoure, got the last three outs to earn the save.

Hoge had two hits to lead LaMoure, while Sturgis had two of Fairview’s hits.

Tags: sports, amateur, baseball