The Minot Metros used a combination of solid pitching and solid hitting to come away with a pair of victories over the Mandan A’s on Monday, June 8, to begin conference play.

Brody Johnson threw five scoreless innings in Minot’s 10-0 victory in Game 1, and Brady Vigested collected three hits and four RBIs in a 12-9 win in Game 2 to complete the doubleheader sweep.

Johnson tossed a gem in the opener, limiting Mandan to just three hits and five total baserunners over five innings. He struck out nine and walked two to earn the shutout victory. Johnson struck out the side in the fifth to end the game via mercy rule. The A’s had just one baserunner reach third.

Before Johnson even took the mound, he already found himself with a three-run cushion. Garrett Nikitenko scored Owen Sundahl on an RBI fielder’s choice at second base. With the bases loaded and two outs, Carter Bush drove in two runs with a single to right field to give the Metros a 3-0 lead.

Minot (6-1) put the game out of reach with a seven-run fourth. Six runs came via two outs. Ty Iverson brought in the first run with a sac fly to left with the bases loaded, allowing Ben Hedberg to tag and score from third. Vigested drew a bases-loaded walk and Nikitenko and Grady Weppler delivered back-to-back doubles. Bush capped off the scoring with a two-run single to right, plating Cole Deaver and Weppler.

Bush finished 2-for-4 with four RBis. Weppler and Vigested also tallied two hits. Nikitenko recorded three RBIs.

Connor Janz was 2-for-2 with a double for the A’s.

The Metros strung together another 10+ hit game in the nightcap, led by Vigested’s 3-for-5 night. He doubled twice, drove in three runs and scored twice. Owen Meyer went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Minot finished with six doubles.

The Metros took a 4-1 lead with a four-run third inning. Vigested’s first hit of the night drove in Hedberg to tie the game and Weppler drew a bases-loaded walk to put Minot in front.

Nursing a 5-4 lead, the Metros plated five runs in the fifth for some breathing room. Owen Meyer drove in two with a bases-loaded double. Vigested did the same later in the inning, doubling to left to bring home Meyer and Sundahl.

An RBI double from Weppler and an RBI single by Nikitenko in the seventh pushed Minot’s lead to 12-5.

Minot survived a late rally by the A’s (1-2) in the seventh. Mandan put its first five runners on base and scored three runs before recording its first out. The A’s cut the deficit down to 12-9 with an RBI ground out before Sundahl struck out Joss Frasher to end the game.

The Metros host the Velva 39ers on Wednesday, June 10, at Corbett Field at 5 p.m.