Odds are this was not hand of God stuff.

It just seemed that way.

There the Bismarck Governors were, cruising to victory over the Mandan Chiefs with their ace, Zach Wentz, on the mound.

Bismarck led 2-0 going into the top of the ninth inning at Municipal Ballpark. Only three outs separated the Governors from their 21st straight win over their archrivals.

Then came the lightning bolt. Three straight singles made it 2-1, and Matt Keller put the Chiefs in the lead by pulling a two-run triple to the fence in left-center. Keller scored to make it 4-2 when shortstop Alex Deyle, the cutoff man, threw the ball away at third base.

"I was saying all night I wanted to see Wentz out of the stretch," Keller said. "… I got a fastball up and middle-in.I was thinking 'fastball and adjust' and he was throwing that fastball a lot. He had to pitch to me (with two men on). He wasn't going to put me on base."

Facing the top of the Mandan batting order, the hard-throwing Wentz surrendered an opening single to Jared Muth and an infield hit to Jason Mellmer. Steve Pletan chased Muth home with a ground ball single to left field and Mandan's deficit shrank to 2-1.

With men on first and second, Mandan cleanup man Jared Quast ripped a wicked liner right at right fielder JonHerold for the first out. That brought up Keller.

Governors coach Mike Skytland said even if the rally hadn't unfolded so rapidly he wouldn't have relieved Wentz, who went the nine-inning route in only 102 pitches.

"Zach definitely deserved to finish the game,"Skytland said. "…It wasn't so much what he did. Sometimes you've just got to tip your hat. A couple of their big hitters came up with a couple of big hits."

Wentz, now 4-3, surrendered seven hits. The big Century graduate, who will play baseball at North Dakota State University, walked none and struck out nine.

Reid Jungling, Mandan's crafty 16-year-old lefty, was every bit Wentz's equal.

Changing speeds and relying on breaking balls, Jungling yielded six hits, walked six and struck out none. He threw 113 pitches, 74 of them strikes, in improving to 6-3 on the season.

"Right at the beginning of the game I really felt good about my breaking stuff," Jungling said.

Perhaps Jungling's most impressive statistic was his four pickoffs -Cody Erhardt in the first inning, Hunter Johnson in the second, Deyle in the seventh and Taylor Isakson in the eighth.

Neither pitcher encountered serious trouble until the Governors roughed up Jungling for two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Three walks by Jungling set the table with two out, and Matt Chuppe delivered a single to left field, scoring JonHausauer and Isakson.

Jungling extricated himself from that jam and kept plugging away, blanking the Governors on two hits over the final three innings.

"The only way my team could get any help from me was if I could bear down and get the job done,"Jungling said of his strong finish.

The rest was up to his teammates.

"Iwas praying (for runs).I was praying, that's for sure," he said.

The setback, just their third in 14 games, leaves the Governors 10-6 in the statewide standings and 22-12 overall. Bismarck closes the regular season schedule with three twin bills - at Dickinson today and at home against Wahpeton and Fargo on Friday and Saturday.

Mandan, which had lost 13 of 19, improved to 4-8 in the statewide standings and 25-20 overall. The Chiefs close with four doubleheaders - at home against Wahpeton today and on the road at West Fargo, Grand Forks and Devils Lake Friday through Sunday.

"We've got a huge week coming up and this is just the perfect start to it," Keller said. "This rivalry is huge. Guys who played before us told us to go out and get (Bismarck), and this just feels great.It's awesome."

After 20 straight losses to Bismarck dating back to 2004, Jungling said Tuesday's win offers an opportunity to turn things around.

"This is our season right here," Jungling said of the eight upcoming statewide games. "This is a huge confidence boost for the whole team."

The loss was the second tough setback in a row for Wentz. Last week he lost a 4-0 decision as Dickinson lefty Kyle Schroeder fired a one-hitter.

"Ifeel really bad for Zach. He threw such a good game," Skytland said. "But give Mandan credit. A couple of guys came up with big hits, and Jungling kept us off balance, and he deserved to win, too."

As he headed for the bus, Jungling wasn't talking about runs, hits, errors or runners picked off.

"The best part of this game is that 20 is history," he said.

Mandan 4, Bismarck 2

Mandan 000 000 004 - 4 7 2

Bismarck 000 002 000 - 2 6 1

Reid Jungling and Jason Mellmer; ZachWentz and Taylor Isakson.W - Jungling, 6-3. L- Wentz, 4-3. HR- None.

Highlights:M -Jared Muth 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB; Steve Pletan 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI; Matt Keller 1-for-4, triple, 1 R, 2 RBIs; Jungling 9 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 0 SO. B-Isakson 1-for-4, 1 R; Matt Chuppe 1-for-4, 2 RBIs; Wentz 9 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO.

Records:Mandan 4-8 statewide, 25-20 overall; Bismarck 10-6, 22-12.