Minot North senior pitcher Brody Mueller follows through on his pitch home in the Sentinels' quarterfinals game against the West Fargo Horace Hawks at Corbett Field on Thursday, May 28. Nathan Beitler/MDN

The 2026 NDHSAA Class A Baseball State Tournament kicked off on Thursday with the quarterfinal round at Corbett Field.

The West’s third-seeded Minot North Sentinels fell in their quarterfinal game to the East’s second-seeded West Fargo Horace Hawks 4-5, though it was not for a lack of effort.

The Sentinels had a tough time finding momentum at the plate, going three up and three down in four of their seven innings.

The Hawks had an early start offensively, putting three runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning.

The Sentinels put their first run on the board in the top of the second inning when a ground ball by sophomore Garrett Nikitenko found the gap in the Hawks’ infielders, sending the ball into right field and allowing senior Levi Balas to cross home plate.

The Hawks brought their lead back to three with another run scored in the bottom of the third inning at 1-4.

Sophomore Brady Vigested ran home for the Sentinels’ second run of the game off of a line drive to center field by junior Kayden Danielson in the top of the fifth.

The Sentinels were able to tie the ball game in the top of the sixth inning with back to back scoring plays. First, senior Brody Mueller ran across home plate thanks to a sacrifice fly by Balas. Then, senior Logan Dixon scored from third on a wild pitch.

The Sentinels defense was unable to hold the Hawks back in the bottom of the sixth inning, allowing them to regain their lead on an RBI single.

Minot North was unable to respond with another run of their own in the top of the ninth, ending the game at the half inning with a ground out to first base.

Senior Brody Mueller was on the mound for the Sentinels and pitched all six innings, taking the loss fr Thursday’s game.

The Hawks advanced to the tournament semifinals. The Sentinels will play in the Loser-Out round for a chance at fifth place, set to begin 35 minutes after the conclusion of the earlier Loser-Out game, which begins at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 29.

The Minot High Magicians were down 7-1 against the West Fargo Sheyenne Mustangs at the top of the seventh inning at deadline.