Jul 09, 2006 - 02:09:41 CDT
A baseball team with an 18-7 record has to be in hog heaven, right?Not exactly.
Beulah stood 18-7 after losing to Mandan in the first round of the Bismarck B Classic on Friday and found itself with a three-game losing streak.
The Cyclones took a mighty step to reversing those fortunes on Saturday with a 12-10 comeback victory over Enderlin. That win, coupled with a Friday evening win over the Fargo White Sox, gives Beulah two straight victories and puts the Cyclones smack dab in the hunt for the Classic championship.
In Saturday's other games, the Fargo White Sox downed Mandan 8-7, Dickinson blanked Mandan 8-0 and Enderlin overtook Dickinson 12-10. The Bismarck Reps and Fargo played Saturday's late game. The tournament concludes with three games beginning at 11 a.m. today at Municipal Ballpark.
Beulah overtook Enderlin with a seven-run sixth inning, thus wiping away the vestiges of Enderlin's eight-run third.
"That comeback really helps because we haven't been able to do that ... and Enderlin is pretty good this year," said Cyclones first baseman Tim Wolf. "This shows we can do it."
Wolf cracked the tying hit against Enderlin, delivering a bases-loaded three-run double to knot the game at 10. He later scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by Tyler Bauman.
Going to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth inning Wolf had reason for concern. He was the first Beulah batter to face Enderlin reliever Logan Midthun. And Midthun had been overpowering in two previous relief outings, facing seven batters and whiffing six of them.
But Wolf lofted a fly ball to center field that carried and carried on a 15 mph tailwind right over the head of Adam Pilgrim for a three-run double.
"I thought he was going to catch it. It was a routine fly ball," Wolf said.
Maybe. But it became Wolf's third hit of the day and ran his RBI count to four.
Enderlin made some noise in the top of the seventh with one-out singles by Andrew Fraase and Zach Michaelson. With two men on, Beulah coach Steve Folmer pulled right-hander Ryan Koch after four innings of shutout relief. Right-hander Tyler Bauman, who pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Friday's loss to Mandan, got the call.
Bauman, a right-hander, gave up a sacrifice bunt to Midthun, intentionally walked Kyle Langland and struck out Daniel Froelich to earn a save.
Wolf said Koch, a right-hander who entered with Beulah trailing 10-5, was the game's hidden hero. "Ryan Koch held them," Wolf noted.
Beulah swatted 17 hits, including four by Travis Voegele and three each by Wolf and Ike Michaelson. Bauman, in addition to picking up the save, singled twice and drove in three runs.
Langland led the Enderlin attack with four RBIs on two doubles and a single. Zach Michaelson singled twice and doubled, driving in two runs.
With the win over Enderlin, Beulah moves into a position where it can clinch the Classic title with a win in today's 3:30 tournament finale against the Bismarck Reps. The Cyclones stand 2-1 in the tournament. Enderlin, 2-1, can still win the tournament. Post 219 needs a win over Mandan at 11 a.m. today coupled with a Beulah loss.
The Reps can win the championship by beating Beulah if Mandan knocks off Enderlin.
Enderlin 208 000 0 - 10 12 5
Beulah 203 007 x - 12 17 2
Andrew Fraase, Logan Midthun (6) and Zach Michaelson; Dalen Foth, Ryan Koch (3), Tyler Bauman (7) and Travis Voegele. W - Koch. L - Midthun. HR - None.
Highlights: E - Michaelson 3-for-5, double, 2 R, 2 RBIs; Kyle Langland 3-for-4, 2 doubles, 1 R, 4 RBIs; Adam Pilgrim 1-for-3, triple, 1 R, 3 RBIs. B - Voegele 4-for-4, 3 R, 2 RBIs; Ike Michaelson 3-for-4, 3 R, 1 SB; Tim Wolf 3-for-4, double, 2 R, 4 RBIs, 1 SB; Bauman 2-for-4, 3 RBIs; Koch 4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO; Bauman 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO.
Records: Enderlin 19-11, Beulah 20-7.
Enderlin 12, Dickinson 10
Midthun rapped two hits and drove in three runs against Dickinson, and that was just in in the fifth inning.
That explosive fifth told the tale as Enderlin rallied from a 9-2 deficit to bounce Dickinson.
Ten runs in an inning is a first for Enderlin this season, but Midthun said huge rallies are no strangers to Post 219. Normally, they occur earlier. "Usually in the first couple of innings we try to get ahead," he said. "... Coach (Kevin Bratland) kind of got on our butts. We weren't playing very well right away, so we had to bear down and put the ball in play."
Post 219 had seven hits in the fifth inning. Two walks helped the rally along and four Dickinson errors made seven of the runs unearned. Enderlin sent 15 men to the plate in the uprising. Midthun and Daniel Froelich each had two hits. Froelich drove in two of the 10 runs.
Winning pitcher Zach Michaelson lasted until the seventh inning in the 95-degree heat. When he walked the leadoff man, Bratland called on Midthun to close for the second time.
Froelich smacked three hits to pace Enderlin and Michaelson, Midthun and Micah Fraase drilled two each. Ethan Ladbury and Zach Keller each cracked a pair of hits for Dickinson.
Midthun attends the University of North Dakota, where he was baseball redshirt last season. At UND Midthun is only a pitcher. "It's nice to be able to come back and smack the ball around a little bit," he said. "Pitchers don't hit in college."
Dickinson 104 311 0 - 10 9 4
Enderlin 200 0(10)0 x - 12 12 3
Ryan Olin, Tyler Tucker (5) and Michael Steve, Alex Schiff (5); Zach Michaelson, Logan Midthun (7) and Zach Lautt. W - Michaelson. L - Tucker. Save - Midthun. HR - None.
Highlights: D - Lucas Hendrickson 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBIs, 1 SB; Ethan Ladbury 2-for-4, 1 R; Zach Keller 2-for-3, double, 2 R, 3 RBIs, 1 SB; John O'Brien 1-for-3, triple, 2 RBIs; Ryan Thorpe 1-for-4, double, 2 R. E - Andrew Fraase 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Michaelson 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBIs, 1 SB; Daniel Froelich 3-for-4,double, 1 R, 3 RBIs, 1 SB; Micah Fraase 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB; Adam Pilgrim 1-for-1, 2 BB, 1 R; Midthun 2-for-2, 3 R, 3 RBIs; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO.
Records: Dickinson 12-11, Enderlin 19-10.
Dickinson 8, Mandan 0
Andy Tomanek, making just his third pitching start of the summer, looked liked a seasoned mound veteran against Mandan.
The Dickinson Roughriders hurler struck out nine, walked two and held Mandan to two singles to pick up the win in a game shortened by the eight-run rule.
The only sign of trouble was a worrisome third inning. Tomanek sandwiched a pair of walks around a one-out single to load the bases with A's. Then he fanned the next two hitters to retire the side. Eight of Mandan's first nine outs were via strikeouts.
Tomanek said his strikeouts were as much a result of brains as brawn. "I just tried to keep them off balance. ... I just mixed up my pitches really well, and I was hitting spots," he said. "... And my change-up was working today."
The change-up is a new addition to Tomanek's repertoire, which is the standard fastball-curveball-change assortment. "I just added that pitch a couple of weeks ago," he said. "I think I threw more change-ups than curves. ... I threw mostly fastballs - 70 percent or a little less."
Dickinson opened scoring in the third inning, taking advantage of two walks and two wild pitches to score four times. Lucas Hendrickson doubled and Tomanek and Zach Keller added singles to the rally.
Three A's errors set the stage for four unearned runs in the fourth inning.
The victory was Dickinson's sixth in seven games.
Mandan 000 00 - 0 2 3
Dickinson 004 4x - 8 4 2
Jason Mellmer and Sam Salveson; Andy Tomanek and Alex Schiff. W - Tomanek. L - Mellmer. HR - None.
Highlights: M - Brandon Leingang and Justin Heldstab singled. D - Lucas Hendrickson 2-for-3, double, 2 R; Zach Keller 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB; Tomanek 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 SO.
Records: Mandan 9-20, Dickinson 12-10.
Fargo White Sox 8, Mandan 7
Mandan, down 8-3, rallied and had a chance to win before bowing to the Fargo White Sox.
The White Sox broke a 3-3 game open with three runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth for an 8-3 edge.
Mandan jumped back into the fray with a four-run sixth inning, chasing White Sox starter Andrew Nelson and cutting the deficit to one run. Matt Bosch and Tony Fleck fueled the rally with back-to-back doubles. Bosch's two-bagger chased home Justin Heldstab and Fleck's double plated Sam Salveson and Bosch. Fargo pitchers supplied three walks.
White Sox reliever Taylor Savageau surrendered three singles and a walk before shutting down the A's with the bases loaded.
Mandan made another run at tying things in the top of the seventh inning, putting two men on with one out before Savageau got the final two batters on fly balls to center field. The A's stranded eight runners over the final three innings.
Mandan 030 004 0 - 7 9 2
Fargo 111 320 x - 8 9 4
Justin Heldstab, Brandon Leingang (4) and Matt Bosch; Andrew Nelson, Taylor Savageau (6) and Chris Traynor. W - Nelson. L - Heldstab. HR - None.
Highlights: M - Bosch 3-for-5, 2 doubles, 2 R, 1 RBI; Tony Fleck 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBIs; Aaron Janz 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI; Brandon Driessen 2-for-3, 1 RBI; Heldstab 1-for-3, 1 R. F - Savageau 2-for-4, triple, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Traynor 1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 SB; Nelson 1-for-4, double, 1 R; Scott Lepage 1-for-4, 1 R; Nate Stolboeger 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 SB; Nate Valenti 1-for-2, 1 R; Eric Meier 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI; Ethan Parmer 1-for-2, double, 2 RBIs.
Records: Mandan 9-19, Fargo White Sox 8-14.
Enderlin 13, Bismarck Reps 3
Enderlin came out swinging in Friday's final game, banging out a dozen hits en route to an eight-run rule-shortened victory over the Bismarck Reps.
Post 21 took command of the game in the second inning, swatting six hits and scoring seven runs off Reps starter Alex Allen. Zach Michaelson's three-run triple was at the heart of the rally. Kyle Langland added an RBI double and Logan Midthun singled in a run.
Bismarck managed just five hits off a pair of Enderlin pitchers. Midthun, a lefty, came on in relief in the bottom of the fifth, facing four batters and fanning three of them.
Enderlin 272 02 - 13 12 1
Bismarck 010 20 - 3 5 6
Adam Pilgrim, Logan Midthun (5) and Zach Michaelson; Alex Allen and Tyler Johnson. W - Pilgrim. L - Allen. HR - None.
Highlights: E - Jared Skaar 1-for-1, 2 R, 1 SB; Andrew Fraase 2-for-3, 3 R, 3 RBIs, 1 SB; Michaelson 1-for-4, triple, 1 R, 3 RBIs; Kyle Langland 2-for-4, double, 1 R, 1 RBI; Micah Fraase 1-for-3, double, 1 R; Evan Pilgrim 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 SB; Midthun 1-for-3,1 R, 2 RBIs; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO; A. Pilgrim 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO. B - Johnson 2-for-2, double; Drew Eichele 1-for-2, double, 2 R.
Records: Enderlin 18-10, Bismarck Reps 14-11.
STANDINGS
Beulah 2-1. Enderlin 2-1. Bismarck Reps 1-1. Fargo White Sox 1-1. Mandan 1-2. Dickinson 1-2.
SCHEDULE
Friday: Mandan 7, Beulah 5. Beulah 8, Fargo White Sox 0. Bismarck Reps 12, Dickinson 4. Enderlin 13, Bismarck Reps 3.
Saturday: Fargo White Sox 8, Mandan 7. Dickinson 8, Mandan 0. Enderlin 12, Dickinson 10. Beulah 12, Enderlin 10. Bismarck Reps vs. Fargo White Sox, n.
Sunday: Enderlin vs. Mandan, 11 a.m. Fargo White Sox vs. Dickinson, 1:15. Bismarck Reps vs. Beulah, 3:30.
M-Unit wrote on Jul 9, 2006 10:11 PM:
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