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CITY (NewsDakota.com)–In sectional play, when you drop into loser-out baseball, the name of the game is survive and advance.
Both Enderlin and Valley City applied that thought process Thursday, but only one can survive tomorrow after both won loser-out games during day three of the tournament.
Enderlin plated a run in the sixth, then won the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh, knocking off Fairmount-Hankinson 4-3 to start the third day of tournament baseball.
After a day that saw six teams score in double-digits, the pitchers finally took over, with Mitch Lacher scattering out eight hits over seven innings of work to grab the win.
Fairmount-Hankinson tried to take it away from Lacher early, with the first thee hitters of the day reaching on base hits, scoring two runs. After a run in the third , however, the F-H bats were shut down by Lacher, who did not allow a runner past first the rest of the way.
Lacher finished with a dozen strikeouts and allowed just one free pass in a complete game win.
Enderlin would not score until the fourth, with Dylan Lerud delivering a pair of runs on a double with two outs. They tied it in the sixth on Taran Langland’s base hit, then worked the drama in the seventh.
Thomas Lindgren led off the inning with a single, and was moved on by Lacher’s sacrifice bunt. Spencer Gillund hit a roller that evaded the glove of second-baseman Cody Birnbaum, allowing Lindgren to charge home with the winning run.
Alex Althoff was saddled with his second loss of the tournament. After a game that saw him throw 166 pitches against Valley City in the opener, a game he lost after a four-run rally in the seventh, he gave up two hits in just one inning of work to take the loss.
Austin Kutzer did not factor in the decision after a six-inning start, walking nine and striking out six.
Enderlin will face Valley City at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, after Post 60 earned a 7-4 win over Lidgerwood to advance.
Valley City started strong, but left opportunity after opportunity on the bases, stranding 12, 10 in scoring position during the night. They would use a young starter and a veteran closer to seal the deal.
Chase Carpenter worked 5.2 innings for the win, allowing four runs, three of them earned, striking out 10. But late-inning trouble would chase him from the game and allow Lidgerwood a chance late.
Post 60 took a 4-0 lead with a three-run top-half of the first, with Wayne Engelhard leading off the game hit by a pitch, followed by singles by Tyler Stearns and Trent Egan, and a double by Derek Kohler. Kohler would drive in Engelhard in the second for a 4-0 lead.
But Valley City left the bases loaded in the first, two in scoring position in the second, and single runners in striking distance in the third and fourth, keeping Lidgerwood in the game.
Lidgerwood scored their first run in the fourth, then plated two in the fifth with just one base hit, and brought in a fourth run in the sixth after three walks in the inning by Carpenter, six in three innings, and threatened with runners on the corners in a two-run game.
Head coach Jason Beilke turned the game over to Egan, who earned the win two nights earlier, and Egan was brilliant, working four straight outs for the save, striking out three batters and throwing a ground out to end the game.
The Enderlin-Valley City winner meets the loser of the semifinal that features Kindred and Wahpeton. Both games would be tomorrow, and both will be heard on The Raven 103.1 FM.