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Bismarck Reps, Minot Metros light up scoreboard in doubleheader

High-octane offenses

Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Minot Metros catcher Jayden Speraw crosses home plate in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Bismarck Reps at Corbett Field. The Reps earned 11-8 and 10-6 victories in the doubleheader.

Scoring a flurry of early runs often constitutes a common recipe for success on the baseball diamond. However, the Bismarck Representatives went against the grain in Game 1 of Wednesday evening’s doubleheader against the Minot Metros at Corbett Field.

The Reps bided their time before scoring a total of nine runs in the opener’s final three innings. After using the late surge to claim an 11-8 victory, Bismarck captured a 10-6 win in the hotly-contested nightcap.

“I think the biggest thing that it shows is that we’re competitive with these teams that are at the top of the region,” Metros assistant coach Caleb Fornshell said. “We played them close earlier in the year, also. We played two really close counters with them.”

According to the live stats, the Metros and Reps combined for a total of 24 hits in Game 1. Minot jumped out to a 4-1 lead through three innings, but Bismarck chipped away before breaking out.

Two Bismarck RBI singles in the fifth inning preceded Jackson Klipfel’s two-out triple. Tyler Johnson, Jayden Speraw and Tyler Budeau provided key offensive contributions for the Metros in the bottom of that frame.

Minot held an 8-6 lead after five innings, but the Reps did not stay down for long. After loading the bases with no outs, Bismarck tacked on four additional runs.

A sacrifice fly, a single, a hit batsman and a walk provided the decisive tallies.

When the Metros returned to the dugout, outfielder Jonas Bubach encouraged his teammates to stay in the game.

“We just need to keep the energy up in the dugout,” Bubach said. “When somebody gets down, you’ve just got to pick them up right away and tell them they can get the next one.”

Minot endured a scoreless sixth inning before Bismarck tacked on an additional insurance run in the top of the seventh. Although the Metros lost the first game, Fornshell was pleased with the squad’s offensive output.

“We had guys that drove some gaps that we hadn’t really seen a whole lot of in the last couple of weeks,” he said. “Against a good Bismarck team, that’s a good feeling heading into the end of the regular season.”

Bismarck adhered to conventional wisdom in Game 2. In the first frame, the Reps generated five runs by spraying the ball to all areas of the field.

Once relieved of the initial jitters, Bubach settled down in his first pitching start as a Metro. He tossed two consecutive scoreless frames before allowing one run in the top of the fourth.

“I had kind of given my coach a hard time about not pitching me,” Bubach said. “He said he would put me in one time this year. I finally got a chance to do it, so it was a lot of fun.”

The Metros aided their starter with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Two innings later, Minot earned three runs through productive at-bats from Aiden Stewart, Tyler Buchanan and Landon Halseth.

The Metros loaded the bases and scored one run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Bismarck broke the tie with no outs in the top of the sixth.

When the dust settled, the Reps led 10-6 after their half of the inning concluded. No runs came across for Minot in the bottom of the sixth, but Bubach remained undeterred after the game concluded.

“We can stick with anybody,” Bubach said. “I mean, right now, this is the best team in the state. We were up in the fifth and sixth innings against them. We can play with this team. We can beat them in regionals and at state. That’s the biggest thing we can take away from this.”

The Metros are off until the regional tournament in Jamestown.

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.

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