Adam Papin/MDN - Stanley third baseman James Fierros Fonseca slides home ahead of the pickoff throw in the top of the sixth inning.

BERTHOLD – It was a playoff atmosphere in Berthold last night as the Lewis & Clark-Berthold Bombers hosted the Stanley Blue Jays in a play-in game to the Region VII tournament. The game also served as a rematch of a game a week ago that saw Berthold hang on for a 5-4 victory.

Early on, it looked as though Berthold would cruise in this game as well, jumping out to a 5-1 lead after three innings, behind a Dylan Pank triple that scored Connor Kunz and Drew Erickson. Pank scored on the very next play on a Benit Sorenson double.

Stanley answered right back in the top of the fourth. With two runners in scoring position, William Nelson hit a double that brought in Jace Anderson. Nelson scored on a sacrifice fly to pull closer at 5-3, before the Blue Jays hit into a double play to retire the side.

Each team would take turns adding runs, before Stanley’s offense exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth to take an 11-6 lead. After Mason McPeak and Casyn Bieri hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, James Fierros Fonesca doubled to score McPeak to tie the game at 6-6. Bieri would score on a passed ball to give the Blue Jays their first lead. Runs by Fierros Fonesca, Carter Ruden, Benjamin Hynek and Brett Leith would expand Stanley’s lead to 11-6 after 5 ½ innings.

Berthold didn’t go away quietly though, adding two runs in the bottom of the sixth when Kunz hit a double, scoring Cooper Bredahl and Lyle Hochhalter to move the score to 11-8.

Not content with a three-run lead, Hynek and Leith each scored in the top of the seventh to expand the Blue Jays’ lead to 13-8 before Nelson was tagged out at home when he tried scoring on a passed ball to end the inning.

Stanley then turned to Ruden in the bottom of the seventh, and he didn’t disappoint. After striking out Pank and Sorenson, he walked Logan Thompson before striking out Bredahl to end the game.

“We’re a young team,” said Stanley coach Cory Rice. “And when you have a young team, a lot of growing happens between every inning. We have some players on our team that have never played baseball. I just kept telling the kids to stick with it, and the eighth and ninth graders showed lots of competitiveness. We’re going to have our bad innings, but we’re going to have our good innings. We needed to play seven innings and they played seven.”

Eighth grader Hynek got the start for Stanley and gave up eight runs in six innings, although fielding errors accounted for several of the Bombers’ runs. Ruden pitched the seventh inning, striking out three and walking one for the Blue Jays.

“I think Ben Hynek is going to be a western North Dakota eighth grader that a lot of people are going to be talking about,” said Rice. “I mean this kid is unbelievable. I’m just so impressed by him putting the time in with me. I can give him a pitching sign as an eighth grader, and he can hit the spot.

“He’s going to be a force to reckon with down the road. No doubt about it.”

Drew Erickson got the start for the Bombers, giving up three runs in three innings. Sam Babinchak pitched 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs. Kunz closed out the game for Berthold, giving up three runs in 1 2/3 innings.

The loss drops Berthold to 2-10 on the year.

With the win, Stanley improves to 4-10 on the season, and they advance to the Region VII tournament on Saturday at 10 a.m., when it will play either Des Lacs-Burlington or Renville County.

“Whoever it is, is going to be a tough team against us,” said Rice. “We really have to up our game, and we just have to keep growing as a team. This was a great experience for them, a big win because now they get that experience in the tournament.”