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(NewsDakota.com) – Valley City State lost a 12-inning thriller Wednesday during the opening game of the NAIA Unaffiliated baseball tournament in Jamestown.

Danny Flahie opened the 12th inning with a solo home run as Dakota State outlasted the Vikings 14-13.

Valley City State will continue play in the double elimination tournament Thursday at 11 a.m. against either Jamestown College or Dickinson State. That game will be broadcast on KQDJ 1400 AM and streamed online at NewsDakota.com.

Dakota State and Valley City State combined for 38 hits in the 12-inning game. Valley City State’s Brady Anderson blasted a three-run home run in the fifth to highlight an eight-run inning that gave the Vikings a 9-5 lead. Dakota State had the answer though, scoring three in the six, four in the seventh and one in the eighth to take a 13-9 lead.

VCSU answered back in the eighth, getting a two-run double by Dan Buehner and an RBI triple from Joe Demers as part of a four-run inning that tied it at 13-13. The Vikings had a chance to win it in the ninth with runners on first and third and no outs, but two flyouts and a strikeout ended the threat and sent the game to extras.

Both offenses were quiet in extra innings until Flahie’s solo shot to center field put Dakota State ahead in the 12th.

VCSU committed six errors in the game, leading to four unearned runs. Seth Spears earned the win, working 4 1/3 innings in relief and allowing just two hits. Joey Duttenhefer took the loss despite 3 2/3 strong innings in relief. His only blemish was the solo shot by Flahie.

Derek Zitzow started on the mound for VCSU. He went five innings, allowing seven hits and eight runs while striking out eight. Four of those runs were unearned.

Preston Jensen led the Vikings with four hits. Joey Demers and Brenden Shearer each had three hits in the loss.