The Minot Metros used a 7-run fifth inning to dig itself out of a huge hole and stave off a Watford City upset attempt in a 9-7 victory in the Class A West Regional opening round on July 24 in Bismarck.

The second-seeded Metros trailed 6-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning before rallying with nine unanswered runs en route to a berth in the semifinal round, where they will play the Bismarck Reps on July 25 at 4 p.m.

It didn’t appear like the fifth inning would amount to much for the Metros, as its first two batters recorded outs, but the Walleye gave them life with multiple errors while struggling to find the strike zone. Ty Iverson drew a bases-loaded walk and Logan Dixon took a pitch to the body to bring in a pair of runs. Brock Thompson tied the game with a bases-clearing single, with a throwing error at home plate leading to two additional runs coming around to score.

Remington Anderson and Gavin King each singled home runs before Watford City was able to record the final out.

The Metros (25-16) tacked on another run in the sixth when Thompson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Walleye (9-14) looked poised for the first upset of the tournament with a 5-run third inning. A pair of balks by Minot starting pitcher TJ Hjelmstad with runners on third led to Watford City’s first two runs of the game. Three straight hits off the bats of Paco Baldenegro, Braylen Tolbert and Brandon Spacher led to three more runs and a 5-0 lead.

Watford City stretched its advantage to 6-0 an inning later on a sacrifice fly from Baldenegro.

Brody Johnson earned the win in 2 2/3 innings of relief, allowing just a single run while striking out three.

The Walleye outhit Minot 11-7, with four batters recording multi-hit games.

Watford City will have to win to keep its season alive, starting with a loser-out game against Mandan on July 25 at 11 a.m.