Apr 19, 2008 - 04:06:15 CDT
By the time Minot's hitters were done facing ZachWentz on Friday he must have seemed 9-foot-2 with eight limbs and three fire-breathing heads.Wentz, Century's senior pitching ace, brought the heat and hurled a monster game.
The big right-hander blanked the hard-hitting Magicians 2-0 on two hits in a West Region baseball game at Municipal Ballpark. Ten Magicians went down on strikes. He walked one.
Minot won the non-regional second game 5-0 behind Derek Somerville's one-hitter.
"His first time through the lineup (Wentz) got us with the fastball,"Minot coachPete Stenberg said. "In the third and fourth innings he worked in the curve and later he brought in the change-up."
Minot didn't put a runner in scoring position until the top of the seventh. Zac Elgie was plunked on the left shoulder with a one-out curveball and Derek Somerville reached base on a two-out broken-bat infield hit. Wentz then mowed Kalvin Larson's bat off, retiring him on a groundball to second base.
Wentz wasted little time letting Minot know trouble lay ahead. He fanned the side on 14 pitches in the first inning. He delivered 89 pitches in the contest, 58 of them strikes.
"Minot is always big for us, especially when we play here, and you've got to set the tempo right away," Wentz said.
He did, challenging the Magicians with pitches that exceeded 80 mph.
"The first couple of innings I thought I was (throwing) in the low to mid 80s," he said. "But I might have dropped down later."
Century scored its only two runs of the day in the bottom of the first inning. Both markers were unearned, making senior right-hander Dane Towery a tough-luck loser.
With one out in the home first, Minot shortstop Ryne Hornecker bobbled Tate Leapaldt's groundball for an error. Wentz followed with a single to left field and then things completely unraveled for the Magicians. Two walks, an error and a wild pitch later Century led 2-0. Brady Wolf's sacrifice fly produced the only RBIof the inning.
Century co-coach Mike Gustavsson said a little offense can go a long way with someone like Wentz on the mound.
"With good pitching, the other team has to make the plays, and errors hurt them really bad," Gustavsson said.
Wentz said everything was working. "My control was good, but it was the emergence of my change-up, which Ihaven't thrown a lot this year, that kept them off-balance,"he said.
The 10 strikeouts notwithstanding, Wentz kept his pitch count under control. He needed just nine pitches in the fourth inning, eight in the fifth and 10 in the sixth.
"I felt fresh going into the seventh because my pitch count was so low," he said. "I'm usually a high pitch count guy."
Towery wasn't as overpowering as Wentz, but he gave Century problems. The Patriots reached him for only three hits.
"Dane Towery did a nice job. He changed speeds well and kept them off stride and got himself out of a couple of jams,"Stenberg said.
Minot, last year's state runner-up, slipped to 2-3 in regional play after being ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches' poll. The Magicians play defending state champion Dickinson, 6-0 in the region, today in the Magic City.
"We're going to go with (Ryan)Bollinger. We expect to see (Stephen) Laylock," Stenberg said.
Bollinger, a senior lefty, has a 0-1 record. Laylock, a sophomore right-hander, is 1-0.
Century sits atop the region at 7-0. Still, Gustavsson isn't getting carried away with the perfect regional mark.
"It tells you there's a long season left," Gustavsson said, looking ahead to 11 more regional games. "It comes down to pitchers throwing strikes and I think we've been doing a better job of that than the teams we've been facing."
n NOTES:Senior lefty Ethan Sundheim was originally scheduled to pitch for Minot against Century. He's been ill and Stenberg handed the ball to Towery. ... Minot's offense was averaging seven runs through its first four regional games.
Century 2, Minot 0
Minot 000 000 0 - 0 2 3
Century 200 000 x - 2 3 1
Dane Towery and Brett Fiddler; ZachWentz and Taylor Isakson. W - Wentz, 3-0. L- Towery, 0-1. HR- None.
Highlights:M- Ryan Bollinger 1-for-3; DerekSomerville 1-for-3; Towery 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO. C-Hunter Johnson 1-for-1; Wentz 2-for-2, 1 R; 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 SO.
Minot 5, Century 0
Minot 401 00 - 5 4 1
Century 000 00 - 0 1 2
Derek Somerville and Brett Fiddler; Matt Stoehr, Tate Leapaldt (4) and Dave Gendreau. W - Somerville, 2-0. L- Stoehr, 0-1. HR None.
Highlights:M-KalvinLarson 2-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBIs; ZacElgie 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 SB; Somerville 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 SO. C -ZachMiller 1-for-2; Leapaldt 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.
Records:Minot 2-3 West Region, 5-5 overall; Century 7-0, 10-2.
Comments are reviewed for taste, tone and language before posting.
Some comments may be used in the Tribune's print edition.
We value and respect your privacy, but The Bismarck Tribune might
disclose certain information to governmental entities if served with subpoena.