Vistas end season with state tourney defeat
Exit with Friday's 14-6 loss to W. Fargo
By virtue of their second loss in the North Dakota AA State Legion Tournament, the Minot Vistas season came to an end on Friday afternoon in Mandan.
The Vistas were upended by the West Fargo Patriots in the elmination round of the tournament 14-6.
After one full inning, the Vistas found themselves in an early 2-0 hole against West Fargo. Then in the second, Minot’s offense came alive for a six-run rally. Morgan Nygaard tied up the game with a two-run double into the gap in left center. Later in the inning, Hunter Ruzicka’s three-run double to right center helped the Vistas build on its lead at 6-2.
As it turned out, the Vistas did not score again for the remainder of the contest. Meanwhile, inconsistent pitching from Minot surrendered runs in the second and third, six more in the fifth, and four runs in the sixth. All told, West Fargo collected 17 hits in the ballgame compared to just four for the Vistas.
Later in the day on Friday, the Bismarck Governors defeated the Post 400 Stars 7-2 in the state semifinal round. As a result, Bismarck will take on West Fargo on Saturday at noon in the state championship round. If West Fargo wins that contest, the two clubs will have a rematch for the state title later that afternoon. In the event Bismarck wins the opening game, they will be crowned the Class AA state champion.
In other tournament news from Friday, the Minot Metros lost 8-0 to the West Fargo Vets in the opening round of the Class A Legion State Tournament in Jamestown. Minot’s next playoff contest is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. against the Bismarck Capitals.