Alex Eisen/MDN Minot Metros shortstop Ethan Pankow (left) fields a ground ball against the Mandan A's Thursday afternoon in the American Legion Class A West Region Tournament at Corbett Field in Minot.

Seven runs given up in the fourth inning was ultimately the Minot Metros downfall Thursday afternoon in a state qualifier game at the American Legion Class A West Region Tournament.

In an offensive showdown with the Mandan A’s, the Metros couldn’t keep pace in front of their home supporters at Corbett Field. Mandan kept its season alive with an 11-6 victory.

Minot, which came into the regional tournament with the No. 2 seed, bowed out a win short of reaching the state tournament.

“It’s tough when you work so hard all year to get that No. 2 seed and position yourself well in the tournament,” Metros head coach Fred Nelson said. “We had four errors, so it’s going to be tough to win a lot of baseball games that way. And the one big inning they had in fourth, scoring seven, was tough on us. It’s hard to come back when you are down like that in the middle of a ball game.”

Early on, the Metros were playing more against themselves than Mandan.

Minot, playing as the road team on the scoreboard, lost a run in the top of the first inning. What should have been a simple RBI sacrifice fly for Jonas Bubach was negated by the runner on third base leaving early.

From not scoring a run to giving one away, the Metros allowed the A’s to score first in the bottom half on an overthrow to second base off a steal attempt.

Trailing 3-1, Minot scored four runs in the third inning to take the lead for the first time. Bubach walked with the bases loaded, Talon Hebert correctly executed an RBI sacrifice fly and Braedon McCarty connected for an RBI double, 5-3.

“I’m proud of the boys,” Metros assistant coach Charlie Slotsve said. “They played their hearts out.”

After the Metros hit around A’s starting pitcher Avery Bogner, Mandan was quick to return the favor in the fourth inning against Minot starter Keegan Stenvold.

Stetson Kuntz, Donovan Taylor and Bogner each had RBI singles. But, the backbreaker hit came courtesy of Caden Hirchet, who cleared the bases with a three-run triple.

“We got to throw more strikes and have a more sound defense,” Nelson said. “We got to be ready for the baseball to come at us. That type of thing. But, shoot, I’m proud of the way we have played all year.”

When the dust settled, Mandan was up 10-5. Runs were then traded in the fifth inning to keep the deficit at five, 11-6.

Mandan turned to relief pitchers Seth Arenz and Taylor to close out the game. The Metros were held scoreless in the final two innings despite getting runners on base.

“The seeds only mean so much,” Nelson said. “That isn’t going to give you a win automatically. Nobody is going to roll over.”

Later in the evening, the two loser-out winners on Thursday — the Bismarck Capitals and Mandan A’s — squared off to keep its regional tournament alive and for a better seed at the state tournament.

The Capitals won 12-1 to advance to a semifinal contest against their in-city rival, the Bismarck Reps, at 11 a.m. this morning. Winner faces the Dickinson Volunteers in the championship series which starts 35 minutes after the 11 a.m. game. An if-necessary championship game will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday if both teams remaining only have one loss.

“I thought we had a very evenly matched West Region, where a lot of teams could beat each other,” Nelson said. “The chips just didn’t fall in our favor.”

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