Aug 13, 2007 - 04:04:00 CDT
FARGO - The bigger the investment the greater the reward. And Minot had to put body and soul into Sunday's championship game at the state Class A Legion baseball tourment.Teddy Anderson's two-out single in the 12th inning drove home Ryne Hornecker to give Minot a 10-9 victory over Bismarck at Jack Williams Stadium.
Minot finished the five-day tournament undefeated and won its second title in a row.
"This was a lot more nerve-wracking than last year," said Anderson, an 18-year old second baseman playing his final Legion season. "This is a good group of kids and that's what we expect is state championships."
Bismarck's Cody Erhardt singled to start the bottom of the 12th and Minot coach Todd Larson called on Ryan Bollinger to shut things down. The 6-foot-5 lefty survived an infield error on bunt defense to subdue the Governors with the tying run on third base.
Bollinger earned his second save of the tournament and seventh of the season. The victory went to lefty reliever Ethan Sundheim, who blanked Bismarck for six innings.
Sundheim and Dustin Wenzel, a right-hander working in relief for Bismarck, turned out to be the key figures in the 3-hour, 13-minute championship game struggle.
Wenzel pitched 61/3 scoreless innings in relief of Zach Wentz as he and Sundheim battled pitch-for-pitch.
"I went out there and threw strikes," said Sundheim, who didn't walk a batter and struck out four. "I just wanted to give our team a chance to win."
Although he felt he had some gas left after throwing 81 pitches, Sundheim said it was hard to argue with turning things over to the hard-throwing Bollinger.
"I could have kept going, but I knew I was going to give the ball to Ryan and he closed the door," he said.
The game had dual personalities, starting out as a slugfest and morphing into a pitcher's duel.
Things were tied at 4-4 when Minot put up a four-spot in the fifth. Jordan Martinson's two-run single was the key hit as the Vistas batted around and chased Wentz.
Bismarck battled back with two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to tie the game at 9-9. The Governors drew even as Torey Bohan's suicide squeeze bunt scored Wentz to complete a three-run sixth inning uprising. Sundheim came on and got the final three outs.
Wenzel, who had previously pitched just six innings in the Legion season, performed brilliantly, putting up five goose eggs after surrendering an unearned run in the sixth.
Hornecker opened Minot's winning rally, coaxing a walk from Wenzel on a 3-2 pitch. Zac Elgie bunted Hornecker to second base and Anderson rapped the first pitch from Wenzel down the right-field line. Hornecker scored easily, but right-fielder Tyler Johnson threw Anderson out at second base trying to leg out a double.
The setback was a story of lost opportunities for Bismarck, which split six games with Minot. The Governors made six errors resulting in three unearned runs and outhit the Vistas 17-11. Bismarck stranded 14 men, eight in scoring position.
"This is a tough loss," Bismarck coach Mike Skytland said. "I was very happy with the way we fought back. We got down four and fought hard to come back. Minot earned it with a couple of hits. Give them credit. They're a very good team."
Skytland praised Wenzel for his pitching effort.
"He gave us an opportunity to win. He shut down a team that had been hitting the ball really well," Skytland said.
Indeed, Minot scored double figures in four of its five state tournament games, winning three of them via the 10-run rule.
With the win, Minot improved to 48-13 on the season. The Vistas, who have won 16 of their last 17, advance to the Central Plains Regional tournament at Marshall, Minn.
Bismarck's season ended at 37-16.
Minot 022 041 000 001 - 10 11 3
Bismarck 301 023 000 000 - 9 17 6
Zac Elgie, Ethan Sundheim (6), Ryan Bollinger (12) and Dane Towery; Zach Wentz, Dustin Wenzel (5) and Torey Bohan. W - Sundheim, 7-2. L - Wenzel, 2-1. Save - Bollinger. HR - None.
Highlights: M - Elgie 2-for-6, 2 R, 1 RBI; Teddy Anderson 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBIs; Bollinger 2-for-6, 2 R; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO; Sundheim 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO. B - Cody Erhardt 2-for-7, 1 SB; Jon Hausauer 2-for-6, 2 R; Wentz 3-for-7, 2 R, 2 RBIs; Justin Connell 3-for-7, double, 2 R; Bohan 2-for-6, 3 RBIs; Tyler Johnson 2-for-6, 1 RBI; Matt Loomis 2-for-4, 2 RBIs; Wenzel 7.1 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO.
Records: M 48-13, B 37-16.
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