Apr 21, 2007 - 05:05:12 CDT
Dustin Wenzel got it done both on the mound and at the plate Friday.The Century senior pitched 51/3 solid innings and helped his cause with three hits and three runs batted in to lead the Patriots to an 11-1 six-inning victory over the Jamestown Blue Jays in a West Region baseball game played at Bismarck's Municipal Ballpark. Century also won the non-region game, 5-1, to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Wenzel, a right-hander who was making his first start of the season, allowed no earned runs and only two hits while walking three and striking out 10. He also singled, doubled and tripled in four plate appearances.
"Dusty is such a strong competitor and he put on a show today," Century coach Mike Gustavsson said. "We're expecting big things from him this year. A lot of what he did today can See Patriots, Page 6D
be attributed to all the hard work he put in during the offseason. He came in a lot bigger and stronger."
Wenzel, who went 2-2 with a 3.05 earned run average in 2006, threw hitless baseball through three innings before Jamestown's Brady Schoeler singled to lead off the top of the fourth. Schoeler advanced to third base on an errant throw and came in to score on Charlie McPherson's two-out single.
However, Wenzel went on to pitch a scoreless fifth and opened the sixth with his 10th strikeout. He then gave way to Chris Wenzel, who retired the next two batters to finish the inning.
Wenzel said he could have finished the game, but his pitch count was well above the number his coach had set for him.
"Coach wanted me to throw 70, but I threw 92," he said. "I felt good out there, but I'm supposed to throw again on Tuesday and we have a lot of games coming up after that. Coach didn't want me to overdo it, I guess. I really wanted to finish this one, though."
Wenzel liked that he still felt strong going into the sixth inning.
"Last year, I had a tough time getting past the fourth inning because I got so sore," he said. "I got hurt early in the year and never got over it. Today was really encouraging."
Wenzel's three hits led a 14-hit Century attack. Nate Schlosser also had three hits and Zach Wentz, Taylor Isakson and Evan Gesellchen each added two. Seven Patriots had at least one hit.
"Hitting will definitely be one of our strong points this year," Gustavsson said. "We only lost our one and five hitters from last year, so we have the meat of our order and a lot of experience back. We feel we have a very balanced lineup."
It took the Patriots awhile to get the bats going on Friday, but they went on to pummel Jamestown pitching for 13 hits after the second inning. Doubles by Gesellchen, Chris Wenzel and Dustin Wenzel in the third inning produced two runs and a 2-0 Century lead. Chris and Dustin Wenzel each drove in a run.
One inning later, Gesellchen singled home Schlosser to make it 3-0.
In the fifth, RBI singles by Isakson and Marshall Klein extended Century's lead to 5-1. Then came a six-run Century sixth that ended the game early. Dustin Wenzel drove in two runs with a single and Wentz singled in another. Klein and Gesellchen each had an RBI sacrifice fly. The other Century run came in after a Jamestown error.
In the non-region game, sophomore Hunter Johnson fired a three-hitter, singled twice and drove in a run to pace the Patriots to their fourth victory without a loss.
Johnson, who walked two and struck out six, faced the minimum through four innings before allowing a hit and walking two in the top of the fifth. Jamestown later scored its only run on an error.
The Patriots staked Johnson to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. They managed just one hit in the frame - Ryan Sweep's RBI single - but benefited from four walks and an error.
Johnson's RBI single in the second inning brought in Century's fifth run.
Friday's twinbill was the start of a grueling eight-day stretch for the Patriots (4-0 overall, 2-0 West Region). They'll host Wahpeton today at Haaland Field, take on Bismarck on Monday at Municipal Ballpark and then travel to Dickinson on Tuesday. On Friday, they'll host Beulah.
"It'll be real busy, but we're excited about it," Dustin Wenzel said. "The weather's been crazy this year ... we're anxious to play some games and get into a rhythm."
Century 11, Jamestown 1, 6 innings
Jamestown 000 100 - 1 2 3
Century 002 126 - 11 14 2
Ross Hogan, Nick Walden (5) and Kyle Walden. Dustin Wenzel, Chris Wenzel (6) and Taylor Isakson. W - D. Wenzel. L - Hogan. HR - None.
Highlights: Jamestown - Charlie McPherson 1-for-3, RBI. Brady Schoeler 1-for-3, R. Century - D. Wenzel 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 10 SO, 3-for-4, 2B, 3B, R, 3 RBIs. Evan Gesellchen 2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBIs. Nate Schlosser 3-for-4, 2 R. Zach Wentz 2-for-4, R, RBI. Isakson 2-for-4, R, RBI. Marshall Klein 1-for-3, 2 RBIs. Drew Hausauer 2B, 2 R.
Century 5, Jamestown 1
Jamestown 000 01 - 1 3 2
Century 410 0x - 5 4 1
Gerard Mortenson, Zec Tahran (3) and Andrew Lick. Hunter Johnson and Drew Hausauer. W - Johnson. L - Mortenson. HR - None.
Highlights: Jamestown - Tahran 1-for-3, Charlie McPherson 1-for-3, Ross Hogan 1-for-3. Century - Johnson 5 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 SO, 2-for-3, RBI. Ryan Sweep 1-for-2, RBI. Hausauer 1-for-2, R.
Records: Century 4-0 overall, 2-0 West Region. Jamestown 2-2, 1-1.
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