Photos by Mike Kraft/MDN Minot’s Mason Stewart makes a diving catch in center field during the third inning of a doubleheader against Fargo Post 400 on Tuesday at Corbett Field. The Vistas split the doubleheader.

Gannon Hedberg wasn’t expecting to have a bat in his hands during the first game of a doubleheader against Fargo Post 400 on Tuesday, but when his number was called, the utility player delivered.

Hedberg entered the game in the second inning, replacing Oliver Deschamp, who left after his first at-bat due to injury, and delivered a pair of hits and four RBIs to help the Minot Vistas defeat Fargo 9-3 in the series opener at Corbett Field.

“Deschamp went down and I just came in ready,” Hedberg said. “I just worked on some stuff in the cage this week to help my swing and I just used that. I was ready.”

The nightcap didn’t go as favorably for the home team, as the Vistas saw their season-high seven-game win streak end with a 9-0 loss in which Minot managed just four hits and were shutout for just the fourth time this year.

The Vistas (26-12) never trailed in the opener and were never in the finale.

Fresh off a successful title defense at the Justin Demary Memorial Tournament over the weekend in which they went unblemished in five contests, Minot jumped ahead 2-0 after the first inning in the opener. Brody Mueller collected his first RBI of the game with a double to bring home Kellan Burke. Mueller would advance to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a groundout by Braden Nelson.

The Vistas would add three more in the third inning and four in the fourth inning to pad their lead. Hedberg delivered a 2-run double in his first plate appearance in the third and a 2-run single in the fourth to complete a big night at the plate.

“The first game he’s been our number one reliever and he’s our closer for sure, but the initial priority has been to be ready to close and then we’ll get you at-bats on the field in Game 2,” Minot coach Pat Arntson said. “But he just jumped in right away and had four RBIs off the bench and that’s massive.”

Minot collected nine hits over the two innings. Nelson and Carson Deaver each had a pair of hits during that stretch and scored three runs. Minot’s top five hitters in the order scored all nine runs. Four Minot batters recorded multi-hit games.

Minot strung together 11 hits in Game 1, led by the heart of its order as well as Hedberg in the seven spot. The Vistas’ 3-5 hitters – Mueller, Nelson and Deaver – combined to go 6-for-11 with five RBIs and five runs scored. Hedberg finished 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs.

“We always tell our guys that we’re not going to be very good if the middle of our lineup doesn’t produce,” Arntson said. “No good teams have a top or middle that doesn’t produce and they’re successful. That’s 100 percent what we expect if we’re going to end up where we want to end up.”

Mueller went all seven innings on the mound to pick up the win. He tossed 88 pitches, allowing three runs – two earned – on six hits, striking out five and walking one.

The nightcap proved to be the mirror’s version, as the Stars’ bats knocked the ball around the park to the tune of 14 hits and the Vistas struggled to manufacture any offense. After recording two hits in the first inning, the Vistas wouldn’t add a third until Tre Stewart led off the sixth with a basehit.

“Whenever you lose the backside of (a doubleheader), it doesn’t feel as good, but it’s the same result,” Arnston said. “That was a weird game where it started off sloppy only in our results. It started off poorly and we never really recovered from that, which wasn’t great.”

Minot had four hits in the game’s entirety. The Stars had four hits after their first four plate appearances. Fargo opened the game with four consecutive singles and six total hits in the opening frame as the Stars jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. All nine batters reached base safely at least once and eight batters recorded a hit. Gunnar Majerus led the Stars with three hits and added an RBI and a run scored. Fargo had four extra-base hits, with Kane Mathiason tripling in the fourth as the Stars were hitting the gaps in the outfield throughout the game.

“Our hitters jumped on fastballs and they’re good at doing that,” Fargo coach Donn Bryant said.

The Stars (23-11) tacked on three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Fargo recorded a hit in five or the seven innings and had at least one baserunner in all but the second.

Fargo chased Nelson after 4+ innings on the mound. The Stars touched him up for 11 hits and all nine runs before being replaced by Hedberg, who pitched three scoreless innings, allowing three hits.

Matthew Bryant earned the win on the mound for the Stars, pitching a complete-game four-hitter, striking out seven and walking one.

“Our pitcher threw strikes and we just came out swinging the bat,” Bryant said. “Baseball is a fickle sport. It goes one way one game and the other way the other game. It could have turned out differently.”

Despite the disappointing end to the night, the Vistas still remain confident.

“I think we’re hot,” Hedberg said. “We’re all confident at the plate. We’re pitching good and I think we’re ready and hopefully go win a chip.”

The Vistas host Bismarck in a doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 11:30 a.m.