Sean Williams/MDN The Surrey Mustangs gathered together at Corbett Field, on their way to two wins on Monday and a bid to the Region VI championship round.

On Monday, the Region VI baseball tournament kicked off with an action packed four-game slate. The Velva Aggies got off to a powerful start and seemed primed to pick up two wins on the day, but the Surrey Mustangs came storming through, earning themselves a championship bid.

The Bishop Ryan Lions dropped their first game and fought off elimination as they managed to extend their season to Tuesday. The remaining schedule will be Bishop Ryan facing Velva, with the winner going on to play Surrey in the championship. Surrey needs just one more win to be crowned champions, while the winner of Bishop Ryan and Velva will need to beat Surrey twice to claim the title.

Game One

(Garrison vs. Velva)

The Velva Aggies and Garrison Troopers got the day started and it was Velva coming out on top with a 23-3 victory. The Aggies scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning, then followed that up by putting 14 runs on the board in the second inning to put the game out of reach.

Even though the Troopers were down, they did not give up as they fought back to score three runs in the top of the third inning. Velva’s fire power at the plate kept going throughout the contest, however, as they managed to score in every inning.

Leading the way for the Aggies was Kaden Chadwick, going 1-for-3 with a double, walk, and six RBIs. Hank Bodine and Bradyn Bossert also chipped in, driving in three runs each. For the Troopers, they were led by Ty Iglehart and Gaige Roberts who drove in a run each.

Velva 23, Garrison 3

G 0 0 3 0 0 – 3 7 8

V 5 14 1 3 X – 23 15 3

WIN: Nickelson (2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K). LOSS: Kamp (1.0 IP, 6 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K); 2 OR MORE HITS: G – Tre. Iglehart, Kamp. V – Dean, Craig, Bossert; DOUBLES: V – Craig, Chadwick; TRIPLES: None; 2 OR MORE RBIs: V – Beeter, H. Bodine, Chadwick, Bossert.

Game Two

(Bishop Ryan vs. Surrey)

The second game of the day featured a matchup between the Bishop Ryan Lions and the Surrey Mustangs, with a bid to play Velva on the line for later in the evening. It was the Mustangs who walked away victorious, beating the Lions 6-3.

After the Mustangs grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, both starting pitchers in Jett Lundeen and Coltan Francis gave the fans in attendance a treat. Both pitchers were locked in and not letting the team amount to much in the early goings.

The Lions put together consecutive innings of scoring one run in the second and third to give themselves their first and only lead of the day at 2-1. The Mustangs, however, put three on the board in the bottom of the third inning to bring the momentum back to their side.

With it seeming like anyone’s game, the Lions brought it to within one run in the top of the fifth, but the Mustangs pulled away in the bottom of the sixth when they added two more runs to bring the game to its final score of 6-3.

Coltan Francis did it all for the Mustangs in this one, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBIs, while also getting the win on the mound. Andrew Eby went 2-for-2 with an RBI and two walks, and William Mayo went 1-for-4 with an RBI to help lead the Mustangs.

Carson Merck went 3-for-3 with a walk and Colton Feller went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI to lead the way for the Lions. Jett Lundeen started on the mound and went the distance during his outing.

Surrey 6,

Bishop Ryan 3

BR 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 – 3 5 2

S 1 0 0 3 0 2 X – 6 8 2

WIN: Francis (6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K). LOSS: Lundeen (6.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 K); 2 OR MORE HITS: B – Merck, Feller. S – Francis, Eby; DOUBLES: Francis; TRIPLES: Feller; 2 OR MORE RBIs: Francis.

Game Three (Garrison vs. Bishop Ryan)

It was a quick turnaround for Bishop Ryan, who had to take the field again immediately following their loss to Surrey. This time, they were matched up with Garrison for an elimination game. Both teams went back-and-forth, but ultimately, it was Bishop Ryan that secured a 12-11 win.

The Troopers came out of the gates firing, as they built up a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third. Defensive miscues aided the Troopers in a few of those runs, but the Lions would settle in a start to scratch their way back into the game.

Carson Merck continued his strong day, driving in two runs on a double and Josh Will drove in a run in the bottom of the third to highlight a four-run burst for the Lions, cutting the lead to 7-4.

Merck would then add to a late, offensive surge of the Lions as they managed to take a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Once down by seven runs, the Lions now claimed their first lead of the night as they never gave up despite the early deficit.

Once the Lions obtained the lead, they appeared to be in control. That was until the Troopers came storming back and put three runs on the board in the seventh inning, making it an 11-11 game.

Josh Will, however, decided he was ready to put an end to the game for good, as his walk off single in the bottom of the seventh gave the Bishop Ryan Lions a 12-11 win over the Garrison Troopers.

Leading the way for the Lions was Carson Merck who went 5-for-5 with three doubles and four RBIs, Jared Will who went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, and Brady Feller who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

For the Troopers, they were led by Jamison Rime who went 3-for-4 with three doubles and drove in a run, Brody Seidler who went 1-for-1 with a double, two walks, and drove in a run, and Bennett Kamp who went 2-for-4.

Bishop Ryan 12, Garrison 11

G 0 3 4 0 1 0 3 – 11 6 5

BR 0 0 4 2 3 2 1 – 12 11 4

WIN: Will (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K). LOSS: None; 2 OR MORE HITS: G- Trey. Iglehart, Kamp, Rime. BR – Dauphanais, Merck, Feller; DOUBLES: G – Rime (3), Ty Iglehart, Seidler; TRIPLES: BR – Coonrod, Shean. 2 OR MORE RBIs: G – Crawford. BR – Merck, Will, Feller.

Game Four

(Velva vs. Surrey)

With a bid to the championship game on the line and to be in a prime position for the remainder of the regional tournament, the Surrey Mustangs and the Velva Aggies matched up to finish off the night on Monday.

The Mustangs took control early and were in cruise control for most of the game. The Aggies, however, put up a late fight in the seventh inning, but fell just short as the Mustangs advanced to the championship round with a 6-5 win over the Aggies.

It was a quick start for the Mustangs, who piled on three runs in the top of the first. Kekoa Munos walked and consecutive singles followed to load the bases with no outs. Andrew Eby was hit by a pitch to bring in the first run of the day, then Noah Erickson walked, and Wyatt Firmiete drove in a run on a single, making it a 3-0 game.

In the following inning, the Mustangs would add to their lead after Coltan Francis doubled and came around to score on an error. Munos got the start on the mound for the Mustangs, and he kept the Aggies quiet during his outing.

The Aggies were coming off a massive 23 run performance in their first game on Monday, but Munos was not fazed by their success. He kept the Aggies hitless and did not allow a runner to advance beyond second base until the bottom of the fifth inning.

Kaden Chadwick got the Aggies in the hit column with a single to start the fifth and Cayden Craig followed that up with a single of his own to give the team some life. Colin Dean reached on an error, which brought home a run to make it a 5-1 game. Now that the Aggies were cooking at the plate, they looked to flip the script of the game.

A bases loaded walk in the top of the sixth inning gave the Mustangs their sixth and final run of the night, which ended up being an insurance run that proved to be very important. Even though the Aggies’ bats were coming alive, Munos continued his brilliant performance as he managed to keep it a 6-1 game heading into the final frame.

In the bottom of the seventh, Chadwick walked to get the Aggies going one last time. Bradyn Bossert and Preston Kraft singled and all the sudden, the Aggies were ready to make another push at the plate. The Aggies would score four runs in the inning courtesy of a Colin Dean groundout, Blake Engebretson two-run single, and a Kade Beeter RBI double, but the Mustangs would get the job done in a 6-5 win.

Surrey 6, Velva 5

V 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 – 6 8 1

S 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 – 5 7 3

WIN: Munos (7.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 7 K). LOSS: None; 2 OR MORE HITS: S – Munos, Francis; DOUBLES: V – Beeter. S – Francis; TRIPLES: None. 2 OR MORE RBIs: V – Engebretson.