As far as Bismarck Governors coach Mike Skytland is concerned, Wednesday's game with Mandan was a full-dress rehearsal for the Western Division Tournament. He liked what he saw.

Bismarck, down 6-1 after four innings, rallied to defeat Mandan 7-6 in 10 innings at Municipal Ballpark.

With the win, the Governors claimed a four-game regular season sweep of Mandan. That, however, was low on Skytland's priority list.

"For me the main thing was just the comeback and hanging in there for 10 innings," Skytland said. "A lot of things can happen in a nine-inning game. This is a very good lesson for tournament season."

Bismarck built its winning rally from the cheap stuff. Tim Jallen got things started by beating out a one-out ground ball to second base for a hit. John Fraase moved Jallen over with a wrong-way single to left, his fourth hit of the night.

Mandan pitcher Ryan Schnell hit Cody Erhardt with his first delivery, loading the bases with one out. Schnell fanned Matt Kranzler with a fastball for the second out. Schnell ran the count to 3-and-2 on Zach Wentz and missed low and outside with the payoff pitch to force in the deciding run.

Wentz said he was prepared to swing away at anything close. "If it was anywhere close I'd have had to swing. He (plate umpire Chad Kambeitz) had rung me up earlier."

Bismarck tied the game with a bizarre run in the bottom of the ninth. Wentz lofted a one-out pop-up that fell untouched as Mandan's infielders lost the ball in the lights. Dustin Wenzel sent Wentz across with a double to left-center but was thrown out trying for a triple.

Torey Bohan then followed with what would have been a game-winning single before Schnell retired the side.

Mandan, playing its 16th game in nine days, arrived ready to play, scoring five runs in the first two innings. Ryne Jungling singled in a run and Mark Frenzel cracked a two-run single as the Chiefs scored three times in the first inning. Steve Pletan tripled in both of Mandan's runs in the second.

Three straight singles in the fourth by Paul Moch, Pletan and Jungling made it 6-1, Mandan.

Bismarck came to life in the fifth, scoring two runs on a pair of errors by Pletan at shortstop and singles by Justin Connell, Fraase and Wentz. Those unearned markers made it 6-3.

The Governors continued to peck away, scoring twice off Schnell, who was working in relief, in the eighth to cut the deficit to 6-5. Bohan and Daniel Eichele opened with singles, but Schnell coaxed a double play grounder from Josh Standing Elk. With two down, Schnell walked Connell and Fraase responded with a double into the gap in left-center, chasing home Bohan and Connell.

With the victory Bismarck improved to 10-6 in the Western Division and 25-15 overall. The Governors take on division-leading Minot today in a 5:30 p.m. twin bill at Municipal Ballpark.

Wentz said Wednesday's victory should serve the Governors well the rest of the way. "It shows that in nine innings anything can happen," he said. "You've got to keep battling and not get your heads down."

Starting pitcher Tim Jallen got a tip of the hat from Wentz, who picked up the victory in relief.

"This wasn't your textbook start," Wentz said of the early five-run deficit. "You've got to give Tim credit. After the first couple of innings he didn't let them get anything else."

Mandan coach Len Stanley said the setback was disappointing but not alarming. He gave his team credit for battling hard after a long stretch on the road.

"I'm so proud of these guys," he said. "They've shown up and competed for every one of these 16 games. … A loss like this hurts but it's a good warmup for next week."

Mandan 320 100 000 0 - 6 13 2

Bismarck 100 020 021 1 - 7 15 0

Ryne Jungling, Ryan Schnell (7) and Mark Frenzel, Jungling (7); Tim Jallen, Zach Wentz (8) and Torey Bohan. W - Wentz, 5-1. L - Schnell, 1-5. HR - None.

Highlights: M - Paul Moch 3-for-5, 3 R; Steve Pletan 4-for-4, triple, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Jungling 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Frenzel 1-for-4, 2 RBIs. B - Dustin Wenzel 2-for-5, double, 2 RBIs; Bohan 2-for-4, 1 R; Daniel Eichele 2-for-5; John Fraase 4-for-5, double, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Wentz 3-for-4, double, 1 R; 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO.

Records: Mandan 6-12 West Region, 22-27 overall; Bismarck 10-6, 25-15.

Capitals 13, Mandan A's 3

The Bismarck Capitals sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning and 11 in the second inning for a 12-2 lead and cruised to a 13-3 victory in the preliminary game.

Jon Herold rapped two hits and Jared Hochhalter drove in two runs for the Capitals. Matt Bosch banged out two hits and plated three runs for Mandan.

Mandan 201 00 - 3 6 6

Capitals 660 1x - 13 6 1

Tony Fleck, Sam Salveson (2), Jeff Werner (3) and Jason Mellmer; Mitch Feist, Hunter Johnson (4) and Taylor Isakson. W - Feist. L - Fleck. HR - None.

Highlights: M - Brandon Leingang 2-for-3, double, 2 R; Matt Bosch 2-for-2, double, 3 RBIs. B - Jon Herold 2-for-3, 2 R; Brady Wolf 1-for-1, 1 RBI; Isakson 1-for-1, 2 R, 1 RBI; Jared Hochhalter 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBIs, 1 SB; Feist 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB.

Records: Mandan A's 12-23, Bismarck Capitals 26-4.