Jun 10, 2006 - 02:08:56 CDT
When it comes to throwing no-hitters, Mike Quast knows how to do it.The Mandan right-hander blanked West Fargo with a 10-0 no-hitter Friday in the Chiefs' second game in the East-West Classic Legion baseball tournament.
And Quast, a 5-11, 170-pound 18-year-old, didn't have to go through the nerve-wracking last inning normally associated with no-hitters.
Quast came in from the sixth inning thinking he had three more outs to go. His teammates thought otherwise. The Chiefs tacked up four runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game via the 10-run rule and Quast had his gem.
"They (the Mandan dugout crew) said they weren't calling it an official no-hitter until I went out for the seventh inning," Quast said. "... But after we scored the (10th) run everyone started congratulating me."
What a gem it was. Quast threw 74 pitches, 46 of them strikes. He walked two, struck out one, got 10 outs on groundballs and seven in the air.
The visiting Patriots had only two vague chances at base hits and both were wiped away by shortstop Steve Pletan. Alex Salquist squibbed a grounder to the left side in the first inning and was retired as Pletan charged hard and threw him out. In the sixth, Dustin Gregory looped a ball toward short left field that Pletan, quickly backpedaling, caught on the outfield grass.
Other than those two outs it was easy pickings for Quast, who retired the last 10 men in order.
The only two West Fargo batters to reach base were Matt Kulesa and Cole Horsager, who walked in the second and third innings, respectively.
Mandan provided Quast with plenty of elbow room in the early going, putting up two runs in the second inning and three in the third for a 5-0 advantage.
The Chiefs banged out 14 hits off West Fargo right-handers Matt Renfrew and Nate Potter. Quast's younger brother, Jared, and Matt Keller each drilled three hits. Jared doubled twice and drove in three runs and Keller knocked in two runs with three singles.
It appeared Jared might close out Mike's no-hitter with a game-winning homer in the last of the sixth, but his shot banged high off the 25-foot screen in left field for a double to make it 9-0. Mark Frenzel singled in Jared with the game-clinching 10th run two batters later.
Mike said his teammates paid no attention to no-hitter etiquette, which dictates that no one breathes a word about it until the performance is either broken up or completed.
"Nobody was supposed to mention it but a lot of them did," Mike related. "It was fun and they were having a good time about it."
According to Jake Raile, long-time Mandan Legion baseball committee member, the no-hitter was only the third in the history of the Mandan program. All have been in wood bat competition. Raile said Mike Klug Sr. no-hit Glendive, Mont., in 1961 and Chad Hermanson shut down Excelsior, Minn., in 2003 in the Waite Park, Minn., wood bat tournament. All East-West Classic games at Mandan mandate wood bats. Metal bats are used in Bismarck.
"This is a big honor, especially with the pitchers who have gone through this program," Mike Quast said.
Mike said he didn't feel like he was protecting a no-hitter until the sixth inning. "After I got one or two outs in the sixth inning I didn't want to blow it after coming that far," he said.
In the early going, Mike's concern was with winning the game. He said things weren't going smoothly at the outset. "I was struggling the first couple of innings," he recalled. "At the start of the fourth inning I started driving more and I got my control back. The first three innings I was getting behind hitters. It seemed like I'd throw two balls before I'd throw a strike."
Pitching in a wood bat game, Mike said he adjusted his approach. "I went with mainly my fastball today," he said. "With wood bats you try to keep the ball down and use your defense. ... I credit my defense because I only had one strikeout today."
3 NOTES: Dickinson, citing injuries and a lack of pitching, backed out of its two East-West games scheduled today. The Roughriders were to have played West Fargo and Jamestown at Haaland Field. Both games have been canceled. Dickinson said it would be able to play its Sunday game with Wahpeton.
West Fargo 000 000 - 0 0 7
Mandan 023 014 - 10 14 0
Matt Renfrew, Nate Potter (6) and Tyrel Thoreson; Mike Quast and Ryne Jungling. W - Quast. L - Renfrew. HR - None.
Highlights: M - M. Quast 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO; Ryan Schnell 2-for-3, double, 2 R; Jungling 2-for-4, double, 3 R; Matt Keller 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBIs; Jared Quast 3-for-4, 2 doubles, 1 R, 3 RBIs; Chad Brucker 2-for-4, 1 RBI.
Records: West Fargo 2-3, Mandan 1-1.
Tournament Standings
Bismarck 3-0. Minot 2-0. Wahpeton 1-0. Mandan 2-1. Grand Forks 2-2. Fargo 1-1. Jamestown 1-2. Devils Lake 0-2. Dickinson 0-2. West Fargo 0-2.
Minot 5, Fargo 1
(Memorial Ballpark)
Minot 003 200 0 - 5 4 1
Fargo 000 000 1 - 1 8 1
Jordan Martinson and Fred Nelson; Erik Sorenson, Jake Olson (6) and Dave Nygaard. W - Martinson. L - Sorenson. HR - None.
Highlights: M - Ryne Hornecker 1-for-3, 1 RBI; Tyler Lundy 1-for-4, 1 RBI; Ryan Bollinger 1-for-2, double, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB; Shane Gathman 1-for-2, double, 1 R, 1 RBI; Martinson 7 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO. F - Jake McDougall 3-for-3, 1 RBI; Jake Olson 2-for-3, 1 SB; 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO.
Records: Minot 6-1, Fargo 2-3.
Grand Forks 11, Dickinson 7
(Municipal Ballpark)
Dickinson 000 700 0 - 7 6 2
Grand Forks 271 001 x â€- 11 9 1
Joe Kallenbach, Ben Herauf (6) and Alex Koppinger; Steven Kraft, Alex Kreis (5) and Andy Sadler. W - Kraft. L - Kallenbach. HR - None.
Highlights: D -Herauf 2-for-3, 1 R; Koppinger 2-for-3, double, 1 R. GF - Eric Meland 2-for-2, double, 3 R, 1 RBI; Kreis 2-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBIs.
Records: Dickinson 1-4, Grand Forks 2-1.
Fargo 12, Dickinson 3
(Municipal Ballpark)
Fargo 401 220 3 - 12 8 0
Dickinson 000 003 0 - 3 8 6
Andrew Herian and Erik Carlson; Jackson Wandler, Aaron Pavlicek (3), Travis Tooley (6) and Dan Berg. W - Herian. L - Wandler. HR - None.
Highlights: F - Catlin Solum 2-for-3, triple, 3 R. D - Herauf 3-for-3, 2 doubles; Kyle Schroeder 1-for-3, double, 2 RBIs.
Records: Fargo 3-3, Dickinson 1-5.
Minot 10, Grand Forks 0
(Haaland Field)
Grand Forks 000 00 - 0 5 1
Minot 202 06 - 10 12 0
Matt Palmiscno and Andy Sadler; Zac Elgie and Fred Nelson. W - Elgie. L - Palmiscno. HR - None.
Highlights: GF - Eric Meland 2-for-2. M - Tyler Lundy 3-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 SB; Dane Towery 2-for-3; Elgie 3-for-3, 3 RBIs; 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 SO.
Grand Forks 2-2, Minot 7-1
Wahpeton 7, Devils Lake 6
(Memorial Ballpark)
DL 131 000 000 1 - 6 7 2
W 012 000 200 2 - 7 6 2
Jared Schmid, Dustin Hovendick (7)and Britton Lagasse; Matt Kruize, Evan Berndt (7) and Seth Ehlert. W - Berndt. L - Hovendick. HR - None.
Highlights: DL - Jared Preston 2-for-6, triple; Derek Johansen 2-for-6. W - Tyler Lovgren 3 R; Pat Cronin 2-for-4.
Records: Devils Lake 1-5, Wahpeton 1-0.
Bismarck 8, Jamestown 4
(Municipal Ballpark)
Jamestown 002 000 2 - 4 5 6
Bismarck 610 001 x - 8 13 2
Shane Schoenberg, Camden Kretchman (6) and Andrew Klose, Andrew Lick (3); Zach Wentz, Tyler Johnson (7) and Torey Bohan. W - Wentz. L - Schoenberg. HR - None.
Highlights: J - P.J. Pina 1-for-3, 1 R. B - Tim Jallen 2-for-3, 2 R; Josh Standing Elk 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI; Dustin Wenzel 2-for-3, 1 R.
Records: Bismarck 2-0.
Bismarck 14, West Fargo 1
(Municipal Ballpark)
West Fargo 000 01 - 1 4 5
Bismarck 600 8x - 14 9 1
Tyler Greshik, Scott Olson (4) and Nate Potter; Josh Standing Elk and Justin Connell. W - Standing Elk. L - Olson. HR - None.
Highlights: WF - Grant Schmidt 1-for-3, triple, 1 RBI. B - Dustin Wenzel 2-for-3; Tim Jallen 2-for-4, 1 RBI; Connell 2-for-2, 1 RBI; Standing Elk 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 SO.
Records: West Fargo 2-4, Bismarck 3-0.
Mandan 10, Jamestown 9
(Memorial Ballpark)
Jamestown 150 000 3 - 9 13 3
Mandan 005 210 2 - 10 13 0
Andrew Lick, Camden Kretchman (5) and Camden Kretchman, Lick (5); Brandon Coyle, Paul Moch (2), Mike Quast (7) and Ryne Jungling. W - Quast. L - Kretchman. HR - None.
Highlights: J - Andrew Davidson 3-for-5; Nick Hertz 2-for-4, 3 RBIs; Kretchman 3-for-4; Rob Harty double, 1 RBI; P.J. Pina double, 2 RBIs. M - Jungling 3-for-4, 2 doubles, 1 RBI; Mark Frenzel 2-for-3, double, 2 RBIs; Paul Moch 2 RBIs; Ryan Schnell 3-for-3.
Records: Mandan 2-1.
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