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Rally falls short

Vistas storm back late in 13-9 loss to Bismarck

Alex Eisen/MDN Bismarck Governors’ Paydin Slette (right) lets out a laugh and smiles after scoring a run against the Minot Vistas Sunday afternoon at Corbett Field.

Stifled by left-handed pitchers Connor Hanson and Ian McDonald, a mercy defeat was looming. While the seemingly evitable outcome was pushed aside, coming back to steal a victory was too far out of reach for the Minot Vistas.

Trailing 13-1 to the Bismarck Governors Sunday afternoon in the seventh inning of a nine-inning American Legion baseball game, Minot’s offense finally came around — and in a hurry — against the Bismarck bullpen. Yet, the valiant rally came four runs short in a 13-9 loss.

“We don’t do well against guys with velocity and can throw some off-speed,” Vistas head coach Pat Arntson said. “Sometimes we just don’t like guys who throw it with their left hand.”

Bismarck starter Hanson got plenty of run support in his five innings of work in which he allowed just one run on one hit. He struck out six batters. Then, McDonald came in stuck out the side in his one inning of work.

“You just don’t see it a whole lot,” Vistas designated hitter Creighton Rudolph said. “You see righties a lot more. So, it’s just a thing that’s a little unusual. But, you just have to adjust and realize it’s still just the ball coming in.”

Alex Eisen/MDN Vistas infielders Carson Tonini (center) and Alex Schimke (right) watch relief pitcher Derek Nygaard (left) warm-up in an American Legion baseball game Sunday against the Bismarck Governors.

Jalen Ziegler knocked in the opening run for Bismarck on an RBI single to right field. Vistas right fielder Kyler Stenberg made a diving catch to end the first inning and save a couple runs.

The Governors then scored on a wild pitch in the second inning and were thrown out at home on a wild pitch in the fourth. While a little erratic at times, Vistas starting pitcher Blake Smith wasted very little time on the mound going from pitch to pitch.

“We didn’t throw enough strikes,” Arntson said. “Through the first seven innings, we threw more balls than we did strikes. We gave them 14 free bases between walks and hit by pitches. We were lucky it was only 13 (runs allowed), honestly. At that point, they could have easily got to 15 or 20 in a blink of an eye. It’s tough to give yourself a chance to win when they pretty much started with guys on first and second (base) for the first seven innings of the game.”

After only generating a walk the first time through the lineup against Bismarck starter Hanson, Rudolph led off the fourth inning with a triple and scored on an ensuing wild pitch to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.

Smith was replaced by Brock Nesheim with one out secured in fifth and two runners on.

Nesheim only managed to get one out before being pulled for Dylan Vigestad, as Bismarck plated three runs on one hit. Light rain started to come down briefly for the first time when Matt Guenther picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly, Canaan Fagerland was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Ben Weaver had an RBI single.

The Governors broke the game open with an eight-run sixth inning on just four hits. Dawson Weikum, Fagerland, Guenther, Weaver and Ziegler all put together a multi-RBI game.

The Vistas, looking up at the 10-run mercy rule down 13-1, countered to stay afloat with five runs on two hits in the seventh inning off of relief pitchers Mason Thoreson and Weikum.

“We took advantage of some free bases and got some extra base hits at the right time,” Arntson said.

Minot got two more runs in the eighth on a lucky break when a routine fly ball was dropped in the outfield for what would have been the third out. The Vistas left the bases loaded in the inning.

Carson Tonini inched Minot even closer with a solo home run in the ninth. But, a double play abruptly ended the game, 13-9.

For Minot, Jack Plemel went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Stenberg and Rudolph each had two hits and two RBIs.

“You can see the fight in us,” Rudolph said. “That’s always a good sign, but you would like to not have that be a reoccurring thing where we are always down so big. But, it’s a good quality that you don’t quit, ever.”

The Vistas conclude the regular season with a home doubleheader against the Mandan Chiefs at 5:30 p.m. this evening.

“They are non-counter (games in the standings), but they still matter to us,” Arntson said. “We just have to get a good taste in our mouths heading into the state tournament. At the least, we only have four games left if we don’t do what we need to do. So, I’ve asked them to finish strong.”

The North Dakota Class AA American Legion State Tournament is being held at Corbett Field from July 28 through August 1.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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