Part of the beauty of baseball, say the faithful, is that it pays no tribute to size.

So it is that Bismarck Governors leadoff man CodyErhardt, 5-foot-4, can sock a double to left-center off Williston's 6-11 right-hander, Brian Qvale.

Erhardt walked and doubled against Qvale in the Governors' 9-7 semifinal loss to Williston in the Western Division Tournament at Devils Lake last weekend.

In that game, Erhardt connected for three hits, part of a 7-for-14 showing in the tournament. He walked twice, stole four bases and scored three runs.

Best of all for Erhardt, that performance helped propel the Governors into the state Class Atournament for the third time in his three years with the team.

"The main goal is to get there," Erhardt said of the state tournament.

Bismarck, which went into the divisional tournament as the top seed, emerged as the No. 3 qualifier from the West. Thus the Governors play host Fargo in today's opening round of the tournament.

Bismarck stands 34-14.Fargo, the Eastern Division runner-up, has a 33-26 mark. The two teams split a doubleheader 11 days ago in their only meeting of the season.

While Fargo may not represent an easy draw, Erhardt isn't sure there is such a thing in the state tournament.

He said any of six teams could claim the title.

"There are six of them,"Erhardt said when asked to name a frontrunner. "… And the other two could do something, too."

Naturally,he believes the Governors are among the six strong contenders. The question mark is the hitting.

"The bats were a little slow(at Devils Lake), but the defense and pitching were there," Erhardt said .

Bismarck's offense, which produced runs at a 7.7 pace during the regular season, plated 17 runs in three tourney games, an average of 5.7. The Governors had 35 hits, but stranded 30 runners.

"In the region tourney we were getting hits and getting guys on and couldn't find a way to get them in," Erhardt pointed out."If we could have gotten some timely hits we would have been pretty dangerous."

Erhardt said his divisional tourney tear was a good omen in a season that's lacked a long hot streak.

"I've kind of been on and off all year. … Ihaven't gotten into that good of a groove," he said. "I'd have a couple of nights were I'd hit well and then a night where I was off."

Governors coach Mike Skytland said Erhardt is a valuable player even in the games where the ball isn't jumping off the bat.

"He's as good a center fielder as we've had. He's a leader in the outfield and helps people with their positioning,"Skytland said. "He gets a great jump on the ball and if he gets to the ball he catches it. If you have good speed and good reads on the ball, that's what playing outfield is all about."

The speed is there. Erhardt has stolen 15 bases in 19 tries this season and is 31-for-40 in his three-year Governors career.

Erhardt said playing defense is a big deal in his value system. "I love playing defense. I'd rather do that than hit," he noted. "I love tracking down balls in the gap. I work on it a lot."

The effort shows. Erhardt, a center fielder in high school at St. Mary's, played left field his first two years with the Govs. This year he moved to center. In his three years as a starter in Legion he's made four errors.

This summer Erhardt is one of just two three-year veterans on the team. The other is Torey Bohan, a catcher who just completed his freshman year at Jamestown College.

As a veteran, Erhardt said he has tried to bring greater intensity to the game, especially on offense.

"I'm definitely trying to be more aggressive at the plate this year because it seemed I was always getting down in the count last year," he said.

Even though he's trying to take fewer pitches, Erhardt has brought his walk total up along with everything else.

He goes into state with a .345 batting average and 30 walks. That gives him a .466 on-base percentage, an important number to a leadoff man.

Last summer he hit .282 with 16 walks and a .416 on-base reading.

Erhardt's athletic skills have served him well in three sports. He was an all-conference player in soccer and baseball at St. Mary's and was named Century's Mr. Hockey in the co-op.

He plans to attend BismarckState College this fall, however, so it will be baseball only. He'll be eligible for Legion baseball again next summer, but he sid he's not thinking in terms of next year.

He's played onGovernors teams that finished second (2005) and third (2006) at state, and he's tired of coming close.

"We were the last unbeaten (in 2005) … and last year we got beat by Williston twice," Erhardt said in retrespect.

"Trust me, I've been thinking about both those tournaments," he added. "… Man, maybe this is the year."

Looking ahead to 2008 as a possible safety valve is not Erhardt's style. He takes nothing for granted.

"I've got to play this state tournament like it's my last. Who knows what could happen?" he said.

That's exactly the attitude Skytland has come to expect of Erhardt.

"He's very competitive, very hard-nosed," the coach said.

Erhardt said he knows no other way to approach athletics. "That's how you play the game. You play like it's your last. You might as well not be out there if you're not trying your best," he noted. "That's what my parents always taught me and that's what I try to do."