Jun 12, 2006 - 02:08:58 CDT
Pitchers' Heaven isn't a place, it's a state of being.Bismarck Governors right-hander Matt Loomis found himself in that happy situation on Sunday, pitching with a big lead and watching his teammates play strong defense behind him.
Loomis held Fargo to five hits and picked up a win in his first start of the Legion baseball season, earning credit for a 9-1 victory at Municipal Ballpark
With the win, Bismarck closed out the East-West Classic with a 6-0 record. Fargo slipped to 1-2 in the Classic.
Loomis was in the driver's seat after the Governors put up a six-spot in the third inning to go ahead 8-1. That simplified the task of pitching for Loomis.
"When you get a lead you can go out there and pretty much rely on the fastball and try to hit spots," Loomis said. "... I went right at the batters. Even when I wasn't hitting spots I felt OK about it because we had an eight-run lead."
Pitching on a cool, damp day after a two-week layoff, Loomis said he never got his velocity to where he wanted it. "I didn't have everything on my fastball. ... With the cold weather I didn't feel I was throwing as hard as I could," he said.
Bismarck jumped ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the first inning as Fargo shortstop Tanner Bombenger booted a two-out ground ball with Dustin Wenzel and Tim Jallen in scoring position.
The back-breaker was the six-run third as two Fargo errors, three walks and a hit batter led to four tainted markers. Second baseman Jake McDougall misplayed a ground ball to send home two runs. Bismarck added three hits to the uprising, and two men dashed home on wild pitches by Fargo's Tim Rude. Matt Kranzler started the rally with a Texas League single, Justin Connell cracked an RBI single to center field and Tyler Johnson beat out an infield hit to plate a run.
Fargo drew first blood, Bombenger blasting a 2-2 pitch down the left field line for a solo home run with one out in the first inning.
Loomis recovered quickly. He didn't allow another Fargo runner to advance as far as third base until the seventh inning. With Jeremy Newman perched on third and two out, Jallen at third made the defensive play of the game. Jallen dived to his left to glove Jake Olson's sharp ground ball and threw him out easily.
Jallen's play was part of a sparkling Bismarck defensive effort. The Governors were errorless, and catcher Torey Bohan gunned two men down trying to steal second. For good measure, Bohan picked Gabe Shockman off second base to end the second inning.
Loomis and Bohan have been St. Mary's teammates for two years, and Loomis said he's grown accustomed to outstanding support behind the plate.
"In summer ball we've been playing together since we were about 13. He's been catching for me for a long time ... and I know he's good back there," Loomis said. "... He hardly ever lets a ball get by, and he has a great arm."
Fargo coach Bill Ibach said he felt Rude deserved a better fate. "The game wasn't so bad, but we had one bad inning and kind of let it get away from us," he said.
Mandan, which won four of its first five games in the Classic, saw the defensive wheels fall off in the final game of the tournament, a 12-3 loss to Fargo.
The Chiefs committed five errors that led to eight unearned runs behind pitchers Ryan Schnell and Jared Quast.
Fargo made the most of the opportunities provided by Mandan's leaky defense, rapping eight hits.
Mandan opened a short-lived 1-0 lead in the second inning as Brandon Coyle singled home Matt Keller.
But things began to go awry in the third as shortstop Steve Pletan misplayed a ground ball to set up two unearned runs in a three-run Fargo rally. Fargo added three more unearned runs in the fourth and plated five runs - three unearned - in the fifth.
The Chiefs weren't able to recoup their defensive shortcomings on the offensive end. They managed only five hits off Fargo right-hander Gabe Shockman, who went the distance.
Mandan assistant coach Aaron Boyer said Sunday's game wasn't terribly disconcerting when taken in the context of the entire tournament. "We were 4-2 in the tournament and played real well," he said. "... We were swinging wood bats, and up until this (Fargo) game we had pretty close to 10 hits or more every game."
Boyer was running the Chiefs while head coach Len Stanley led the West team in the East-West all-star game in Mayville.
3 NOTES: Fargo played the entire tournament without three regulars who were named to the East roster for the all-star game in Mayville. Outfielder Billy Scholl, pitcher-DH Tom Ebert and infielder-pitcher Justin Hanson were all missing. ... Mandan catcher Ryne Jungling also played in the all-star game, missing Sunday's game. Bismarck played without Josh Standing Elk, Daniel Eichele and Cody Erhardt on Sunday due to the all-star game.
Tournament Standings
Bismarck 6-0. Minot 5-0. Mandan 4-2. Grand Forks 3-2. Fargo 2-2. Dickinson 1-2. Jamestown 1-3. Wahpeton 1-4. Valley City 0-2. Devils Lake 0-3. West Fargo 0-3.
Bismarck 9, Fargo 1
(At Municipal Ballpark)
Fargo 100 000 0 - 1 5 3
Bismarck 206 001 x - 9 7 0
Tim Rude, Grant Kragness (4) and Dave Nygaard; Matt Loomis and Torey Bohan. W - Loomis. L - Rude. HR - Fargo, Tanner Bombenger.
Highlights: F - Bombenger solo HR, first inning; Kragness 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO. B - Dustin Wenzel 2-for-4, double, 2 R; Tim Jallen 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 RBI; Zach Wentz 1-for-4, double, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Justin Connell 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI; Tyler Johnson 1-for-3, 1 RBI; Loomis 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO.
Records: Fargo 3-4, Bismarck 6-0.
Dickinson 14, Wahpeton 4
(At Memorial Ballpark)
Wahpeton 300 010 - 4 5 3
Dickinson 406 004 - 14 6 4
Kory Braun, Seth Ehlert (5) and Ehlert, Dave Gulden (5); Grant Kovacs and Alex Koppinger. W - Kovacs. L - Braun. HR - None.
Highlights: W - Gulden 1-for-2, 2 R; Braun 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI; Tyler Lovgren 1-for-2, 1 RBI; Matt Kruize 1-for-2, 1 RBI. D - Ben Herauf 1-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBIs; Aaron Pavlicek 1-for-2, double, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Koppinger 1-for-2, 3 R, 1 RBI; Jackson Wandler 1-for-2, double, 1 R, 3 RBIs.
Records: Wahpeton 1-3, Dickinson 2-5.
Fargo 12, Mandan 3
(At Memorial Ballpark)
Fargo 003 351 0 - 12 8 1
Mandan 010 200 0 - 3 5 5
Gabe Shockman and Erik Carlson; Ryan Schnell, Jared Quast (5) and Mark Frenzel. W - Shockman. L - Schnell. HR - None.
Highlights: F - Catlin Solum 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 SB; Tanner Bombenger 2-for-3, double, 3 R; Jake Olson 2-for-4, 2 RBIs; Travis Beauchene 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI; Sam Hirchert 1-for-4, 1 RBI; Shockman 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO. M - Matt Keller 2-for-2, 1 R; Brandon Coyle 1-for-2, 2 RBIs; Schnell 4 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO.
Records: Fargo 4-4, Mandan 4-2.
Minot 18, Wahpeton 8
(At Municipal Ballpark)
Wahpeton 000 440 - 8 6 3
Minot 603 018 - 18 18 3
Dave Gulden, Evan Berndt (3) and Seth Ehlert; Kory Houston, Ryan Bollinger (4) and Fred Nelson. W - Bollinger. L - Gulden. HR - None.
Highlights: W - Andrew Lundsetter 2-for-3. M - Houston 2-for-4; Shane Gathman 3-for-5, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs; Teddy Anderson 3-for-4, 2 doubles, triple, 3 RBIs; Nelson 3-for-5, double; Dane Towery 2-for-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs; Jordan Martinson 2-for-4, 1 RBI.
Records: Wahpeton 1-4, Minot 10-1.
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