Alex Eisen/MDN Sabre Dogs starting pitcher Braden Henle (6) winds up to throw a pitch Saturday evening against the Pierre Trappers at Corbett Field in Minot.

With a playoff berth already locked up, Saturday evening’s Expedition League game against the Pierre Trappers was in a sense meaningless. But, that didn’t stop the Sabre Dogs from having some fun and continuing their winning ways.

Souris Valley picked apart Pierre, 10-5, to win its fifth straight game at Corbett Field.

“I wrote on our board before the game that you get to play baseball today and that people are paying money to watch you play,” Sabre Dogs head coach Corey Thompson said. “I don’t know if that fired them up or not. But, they way (Pierre) played the last two nights — a little lackadaisical and not really respecting the game — (our) guys got fired up about that.”

The Sabre Dogs built up a 3-0 lead Saturday after two innings. Crews Taylor picked up an RBI sacrifice fly, then Drew Pollum sprinted around the bases for an RBI triple and came home on a semi-failed double steal that still managed to plate a run.

Souris Valley starting pitcher Braden Henle had a no-hitter bid going into the top of the fifth inning. But that excitement was quickly dispersed when Trappers’ Alex Gonzales hit a double and four more hits followed, which led to four runs.

Now trailing 4-3, the Sabre Dogs called on the bullpen. Cody Waters held the Trappers scoreless in the top half of the sixth and then watched his teammates go to work in the bottom half.

The Sabre Dogs batted around in a seven-run outburst. Jase Edwards, Josh Paino, Wilson Roubion, Taylor and Pollum all collected RBIs as Souris Valley regained the lead emphatically, 10-4.

“Pollum has been swinging the bat really well lately,” Thompson said. “Tonight, he was a home run away from the cycle.”

Waters, pitching his final game with the team and maybe of his career, threw three scoreless innings and was pulled after getting the first out of the ninth inning.

Waters exchanged hugs with a bunch of his teammates on the way back to the dugout.

“He is a senior, so probably the last time he is going to pitch ever in his life,” Thompson said. “It was a cool moment for him… I wanted to give him a standing ‘O’ but (the crowd) didn’t really know what was going. But, our guys definitely did. I think that meant a lot for him.”

Waters joins a growing list of Sabre Dogs players who have had to leave the team earlier this summer.

“I’m from the South and we get a lot of players from the South,” Thompson said. “The schools start really early. Like Crews (Taylor’s) school starts August 12th, so he has to get back too.”

Relief pitcher Caden Kaelber allowed one run while trying to get the last two outs to make the final score 10-5.

The regular season finale is this evening at 5:35 p.m. at Corbett Field against the Pierre Trappers. The one-game divisional playoff series against the Badlands Big Sticks will be played Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. in Dickinson.

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