Statistics, they say, can lie.

It appears, though, that the numbers in Minot baseball coachPete Stenberg's laptop are the truthful kind.

With 10 shutouts and five no-hitters in 18 games and a team ERAof 1.50, Minot's stat sheet screams pitching, pitching, pitching.

And after pinning 2-1 and 4-2 losses on Bismarck on Monday at Municipal Ballpark the Magicians didn't exactly hurt their reputation.

Six-foot-four senior right-hander Jordan Martinson stopped BHS on two hits in winning the first game, which counts in the West Region standings. The second game, a noncounter, was a three-hitter split among Dane Towery, Ethan Sundheim and Jose Lopez.

"Our pitching staff is really strong this year. We need it in games where our bats aren't going so well. Wood bats are different. Some days you hit the ball and some days you don't," said Martinson, who needed just 83 pitches to subdue Bismarck on two hits. He walked none, hit two batters and struck out six.

On Monday, Minot's bats weren't exactly thundering. The team that scored 28 runs in a Saturday doubleheader sweep of Jamestown, managed just eight hits against Bismarck's Jared Hochhalter and EsleyThorton.

"We've been throwing the ball well all season … but we've been a little inconsistent with the bats," Stenberg said. " … When we've been successful we've used right-center field and we didn't use the opposite field much. Aclose game tightens everybody up."

Minot gave Martinson all the support he was going to get in the third inning.

Towery opened the inning with an infield single up the middle and was bunted to second by David Scharpe. TeddyAnderson flied to center for the second out, but Hochhalter, a sophomore right-hander, walked Creighton Bachmeier on a full count. Bachmeier stole second base just before Ryan Bollinger grounded a two-run single up the middle.

Hochhalter fanned Zac Elgie on an offspeed curveball, but the damage was done.

Bismarck's only meaningful offense against Martinson came in the fourth. Tyler Peterson singled and Martinson hit Andrew Seeberg with a pitch to set up Darron Olson's RBIsingle to left.

After being stung by Olson, Martinson retired the final 10 BHSbatters in order.

Martinson, who displayed a quick fastball, said he didn't want to take his chances with just heat. "Ican rely on the fastball, but if I mix it up they can't just sit on the fastball,"Martinson noted. "… I mixed it up a lot today. I threw a lot of change-ups and kept them off balance."

Monday's sweep gave Minot nine wins in its last 10 starts. The Magicians improved to 10-3 in West Region play. Bismarck, which saw a six-game winning streak interrupted, slipped to 8-3 in regional play.

"We're starting to play a little better baseball. We're starting to jell together and play as a team," Martinson said.

Minot moved a game ahead of Bismarck in the regional standings.

"It was one of those games where Minot took advantage of their chances and we had one opportunity to take the lead all day," See Minot, Page 4D

Bismarck coach Troy Olson said. "We just didn't get it done at the plate."

Olson said he had no illusions of battering Minot's deep and talented mound staff.

"They do have a real good pitching staff … and we need to put better swings on the ball against quality pitching," Olson observed. "He (Martinson)is a good pitcher and you're probably going to get one or maybe two pitches to hit per at-bat. If you put yourself in a hole against a guy like Jordan it's a tough deal. Too many of our outs were popups or strikeouts."

Both teams face demanding schedules the rest of the week. Minot visits region-leading Williston today and plays host to a tournament this weekend.

Bismarck visits Williston on Thursday and heads for a tournament in Fargo over the weekend. Depending on how a makeup date with Beulah plays out, Bismarck may have to split its team between Fargo and Beulah on Saturday.

Minot 2, Bismarck 1

Minot 002 000 0 - 2 5 0

Bismarck 000 100 0 - 1 2 3

Jordan Martinson and Dane Towery; Jared Hochhalter and JonHausauer. W-Martinson, 3-0. L- Hochhalter, 0-1. HR- None.

Highlights:M - Ryan Bollinger 2-for-2, double, 2 RBIs; Towery 1-for-3, 1 R; Martinson 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0BB, 6 SO. B- Tyler Peterson 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 SB;DarronOlson 1-for-3, 1 RBI; Hochhalter 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO.

Minot 4, Bismarck 2

Minot 004 00 - 4 3 1

Bismarck 000 02 - 2 3 0

Dane Towery, Ethan Sundheim (4),Jose Lopez (5) and Zac Elgie; EsleyThorton and Tyler Johnson. W- Towery, 1-1. L- Thorton, 0-1. HR - None.

Highlights:M-Creighton Bachmeier 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI; Ryan Bollinger 1-for-3, double, 2 RBIs; Elgie 1-for-1, 1 RBI; Towery 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO; Sundheim 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO; Lopez 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0SO.

Records:Minot 10-3 West Region, 15-5 overall;Bismarck 8-3, 13-6.