Drew Hausauer had a good feeling about how the Bismarck Reps were going to start the 16-18-year-old senior Babe Ruth state tournament.

The second baseman predicted a seven-run first inning against Fargo on Friday - and the Reps delivered exactly that, setting the tone for an 11-4 victory over Fargo.

"I said before the game that we were going to score seven runs right off the bat,"Hausauer said. "Once we had the bases loaded with nobody out, I thought it was going to be a lot more than that."

Hausauer's prediction came through some good patience from the Reps batters.

The seven runs came on just two hits, as Bismarck took advantage of two walks, three hit batsmen and a pair Fargo errors.

"The first thing you have to do to win baseball games is throw strikes,"said Bismarck coach Mike Gustavsson. "Unfortunately for them, they got into a situation where their pitcher was struggling, and it put us in a position where we could be aggressive."

The aggressive baserunning allowed three runs to cross the plate. Three times in the first, the Reps had runners on first and third, and tried to steal second base.

All three times, the Fargo catcher fired down to second, allowing the runner from third to score. Only once was one of the Reps runners tagged out at second in three tries.

"When we're aggressive like that, that's when we are at our best,"Hausauer said. "That was a huge start for us."

After Bismarck pitcher Alex Allen retired the first seven batters he faced - with four strikeouts - Fargo showed some life.

Fargo got singles from Eric Hauge and Brian McCann before a two-out triple by Adam Clapp knocked them both in to make it 7-2.

But the Reps responded with three more runs in the fifth behind back-to-back doubles from Darron Olson and Hausauer in the inning.

"It was important that we came back like that," Hausauer said. "But with how the bats are on this team, we knew they weren't going to stay dormant like that for long."

Hausauer was the only Bismarck player with multiple hits, going 3-for-5 with a double.

Bismarck's Tyler Johnson didn't even need to swing his bat, as he drew a walk in all five of his plate appearances.

"The strong suit of this team is its hitting,"Gustavsson said. "We're hitting around .340 as a team, and the guys just find a way to get on base.

"We like to hit and we like to run."

The win puts the Reps against Williston at noon today.

Fargo will play the loser of the noon in an elimination game at 3 p.m.

Bismarck 700 030 1 - 11 8 0

Fargo 002 020 0 - 4 8 4

Alex Allen and Tyler Johnson. Austin Richard, Eric Hauge (1), Cody Cusey (6) and Erik Carlson. W - Allen. L - Richard. HR- none.

Highlights:Reps - Drew Hausauer, 3-for-5, double. Darron Olson, double, 2 RBIs, 3 HBP. Tyler Johnson, 5 BB, 2 runs. Alex Allen, 2 runs. Fargo - Brian McCann, 2-for-4. Adam Clapp, 2-for-4, triple, 3 RBIs. Eric Hauge, 2-for-2, 2 runs. Parker Kruckenburg, double.

16-18 Senior Babe Ruth

Friday's game

Game 1: Bismarck 11, Fargo 4

Saturday's games

Game 2:Williston vs. Bismarck, noon

Game 3:Fargo vs. Loser Game 3, 3 p.m.

Sunday's games

Game 4:Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 10 a.m.

Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m. (if necessary)