The Jamestown Miller Lite Merchants won their final two games to earn the consolation championship at the Border Battle in Wahpeton last weekend.
The opener turned into a shootout for the Merchants, who led 7-0 after two innings only to fall to the Midway Snurdbirds 14-8.
The Snurdbirds scored eight times in the top of the fourth to take control, hitting four home runs in the game.
Both teams finished with 11 hits. Jeff Nold topped the Merchants with three and a pair of RBIs. Dave Dafforn doubled twice. Joe Vannett was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Jared Purdy had two RBIs and two runs.
Blake Keller shouldered pretty much all of the load in Game 2.
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Eller allowed just one run on two hits as the Merchants nipped the Moorhead Expos, 2-1. Eller struck out 11 Expos and walked just two.
He also had three of the teams' nine hits, scored once and drove in the other run. Sebastian Miles added two hits in the win.
Greg Lunski continued his lights-out summer, firing six shut out frames as the Merchants blanked the Valley City Saints 6-0 in the fifth-place game.
Lunski allowed just four hits in his stretch with four strikeouts.
Bryan Erstad clubbed a two-run homer to pace the Merchants offensively. Eller and Miles also collected two hits and Purdy went 1 for 2, scored twice and stole three bases as the Merchants improved 14-5. They're back in action Wednesday in Fargo against the Mayville Redcaps.
Border Battle Tournament
At Wahpeton 26-27
Midway Snurdbirds 14, Jamestown Miller Lite Merchants 8
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Snurdbirds 004 800 2 -- 14 11 2
Merchants 430 100 0 -- 8 11 5
Ryan Williams, Isaac Triebold (4) (catcher not available). L--Triebold.
Merchants 2, Moorhead Expos 1
Expos 010 000 0 -- 1 2 0
Merchants 100 100 0 -- 2 9 0
W--Blake Eller.
Merchants 6, Valley City Saints 0
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Merchants 202 200 0 -- 6 9 3
Saints 000 000 0 -- 0 4 5
Greg Lunski, Blake Eller. W--Lunski. HR--Merchants, Bryan Erstad.
