Jun 01, 2007 - 04:06:30 CDT
JAMESTOWN - Dickinson needed an outstanding pitching performance from Kyle Schroeder in Thursday's first round of the state Class A baseball tournament.Schroeder was better than outstanding. He was darned near perfect.
Schroeder beat West Fargo 1-0 with a no-hitter in the opening game of the tournament, allowing only one man to reach base.
"I knew he was going to come out and pitch well. He's a big-game pitcher," Dickinson coach Pete Dobitz said after Schroeder, a lanky left-hander, threw a 74-pitch gem.
Schroeder allowed only one batter to reach base, issuing a walk to Aaron Sanderson on a 3-and-2 pitch in the fifth inning.
"I thought 'there goes the perfect game,' but you can't let that affect you," Schroeder said of the base on balls. "... You have to keep thinking you want the win. That was my focus the entire game."
West Fargo right-hander Cole Horsager battled Schroeder every inch of the way. Dickinson's lone run was unearned.
Packers shortstop Zach Odegard opened the door for the only run of the game by booting Jeff Kaiser's groundball into the hole to start the home fourth. Schroeder sacrificed Kaiser to second, where he was replaced by pinch runner Jackson Wandler. Tyler Steffan came through with a two-out double over center fielder Justin Rheault's head to plate Wandler.
Horsager, who threw a no-hitter last spring, said the loss was a disappointment, but the game was outstanding. "It was a good game - hard-fought," he said.
Schroeder said getting a lead made his job easier.
"It's just like a big weight is lifted off your shoulders," he said.
Schroeder worked fast and pitched aggressively, retiring most of West Fargo batters early in the count. Of his 74 pitches, 50 were strikes.
He fired a first-pitch strike to 13 of 22 hitters.
"That's the way I like to work. I like to keep my momentum and get into that groove. ... Once you get in the groove it's tough to stop that."
In order to jump ahead in the count, Schroeder said he usually opened with fastballs. Curves and changeups were also part of his repertoire. "That's the big thing with wood bats is getting ahead," Schroeder said.
In the final inning, Schroeder cast his lot almost exclusively with the fastball. "It was probably 95 percent fastballs in the seventh inning, but I got that last kid out on a curveball," he said.
Over half of West Fargo's 21 outs were the direct responsibility of Schroeder. He fanned six and took care of five men on come-backers to the mound.
West Fargo's hitters weren't inclined to wait out Schroeder. Nine Packers were retired on the first or second pitch.
"That's baseball at its finest," Schroeder said, "and I kept them off balance."
Dickinson had a terrible time trying to get to Horsager with runners in scoring position.
The Midgets stranded 10 runners and had another cut down on the bases. Dobitz attributed the lack of clutch hitting partially to first-game jitters.
"Nerves got to us a little bit. ... We missed a couple of assignments in the batters box and they made us pay for it," Dobitz said.
Dobitz will send right-hander Jamie Ollila, 2-2, to the mound for today's first semifinal.
West Fargo 000 000 0 - 0 0 1
Dickinson 000 100 x - 1 6 0
Cole Horsager and Adams Crist; Kyle Schroeder and Alex Koppinger. W - Schroeder, 5-2. L - Horsager 1-4. HR - None.
Highlights: WF - Horsager 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO. D - Tyler Steffan 1-for-3, double, 1 RBI; Dan Berg 2-for-3, double; Schroeder 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO.
Records: W. Fargo 10-19, Dickinson 24-8
Williston 10, Grand Forks Central 9
Williston opened a 10-1 lead, pulled pitcher Brian Qvale, and held on with white knuckles as tenacious Grand Forks Central fell just short.
With unbeaten pitcher Trevor Sorenson suspended this week for a training violation, pitching is at a premium for Williston.
Thus the decision to try to preserve some innings for Qvale.
"I asked (coach Brad Westphal) to pull me so I'd be ready to go Saturday, maybe not starting but a few innings," Qvale said.
Right-hander Jordan Braun came on in the sixth inning with a 10-1 lead and closed out the game with the potential tying run on second base.
Central scored three runs, one unearned, in the sixth and five runs, four unearned, in the bottom of the seventh.
Adam Marynik pulled the Knights to within a run by blasting a three-run double over the head of left fielder James LaQua with two out in the seventh. With Marynik at second, Braun got Patrick McNamara on a pop foul to Qvale at first base to end the game.
"We came through at the end, but we made it a lot harder on ourselves than we had to," said Qvale, a 6-foot-11 right-hander.
Central opened the door for Williston by making seven errors and the Coyotes happily took advantage. scoring eight unearned runs.
Qvale was the big gun in the Williston attack, drilling a two-run single in the three-run first inning and tripling in the three-run fourth. Shawn Egge doubled in both runs in the sixth and finished with three hits.
Williston did most of the damage against starting pitcher Alex Kreis, who was charged with eight runs, seven unearned.
Qvale, who walked three, struck out five and surrendered two hits in five innings, said his pitching contribution exceeded his offensive efforts.
"Pitching is something we've been struggling with, so it was great to throw strikes and get some outs," Qvale said.
Westphal said Thursday's victory ended an unwelcome state tournament trend.
"We hadn't won a first-round game in four years. This is huge for us to get into the semifinals," he said.
Today's pitching choice for the semifinal was up for grabs when Williston left the ballpark.
"I really don't know," Westphal said.
Coyotes assistant coach Kelly Kessler had a different take. "We're going to go rock-paper-scissors tonight," he said.
Williston 300 322 0 - 10 11 4
G.F. Central 000 013 5 - 9 8 7
Brian Qvale, Jordan Braun (6) and Doug Richter; Alex Kreis, Alex Moe (6) and Moe, David Nelson (6). W - Qvale, 5-3. L - Kreis, 4-4. HR - None.
Highlights: W - Shawn Egge 3-for-3, double, 2 R, 2 RBIs; Richter 3-for-5, 1 RBI; Qvale 2-for-4, triple, 2 R, 2 RBIs; 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO. GFC - Moe 2-for-4, double, 1 R, 1 RBI; Beau Saiers 2-for-4, double, 2 R, 2 RBIs; Adam Marynik 1-for-4, double, 3 RBIs; Brady Johnson 2-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI.
Records: Williston 19-9, G.F. Central 11-15
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