Roughriders split with Bismarck in final home doubleheader

Jul. 19—DICKINSON — It's been a seesaw year for the Dickinson Roughrider AA American Legion baseball team, so why should Tuesday, July 18 be any different? The Roughriders split a doubleheader in the conference for the fifth time this season, this one coming at Dakota Community Bank and Trust Ballpark against the Bismarck Governors in a nail-biting, 11-10, walk-off win in the opener and a difficult, 8-11, late-innings loss in the nightcap on Tuesday, July 18. The results set up an interesting season-finale doubleheader on the road to Minot this Friday, with numerous teams jockeying for their respective positions in the State AA American Legion Baseball Tournament that awaits in Dickinson at Astoria Field next week, starting on Monday, July 24 and running through Saturday, July 29.

After a thrilling, extra-innings win in the opener — with catcher Landon Olson crossing the plate on a wild-pitch in the bottom of the 10th — the nightcap also was decided late. The Governors (10-6 in the State Conference) scored 3 runs in the top of the sixth inning to pull away from Dickinson (7-9) and cement their win, but it wasn't without some fireworks from the home team beforehand.

The Roughriders opened up with a 4-run first inning in response to 3 from Bismarck, as shortstop Jadon Bast led off with a walk — eventually advancing around the bases and scoring on a passed-ball — and starting pitcher Jace Kovash singled before first-baseman Isaac Daley reached on an error and Davin Seibel loaded the bases on a walk. A Colin Tschetter single drove in Kovash and catcher Malachai Medina drove home Daley while Seibel scored on a wild pitch to take a 4-3 lead.

Bismarck kept up the pressure with a 3-run second inning, but Dickinson roared back with a double from Kovash that helped his own cause by scoring Bast and a run from Daley that tied the game at 6-6 on a wild-pitch.

The teams traded runs in the third as the Roughriders again knotted the game on an RBI single from Medina that plated Tschetter — who had tripled — and in the bottom of the fourth Dickinson took a 1-run lead at 8-7 on a single from third-baseman Carson Weiler, who eventually scored on a ground-out from right-fielder Kaeden Krieg.

But that would do it for Dickinson for the remainder of the game as the bats went cold at just the wrong time and the Governors took advantage with their late 4-run outburst.

Kovash ended up being chased from the mound after three innings, but ended up 2-of-3 at the plate with a run, a stolen base and an RBI, while Tschetter went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI with a team-high 4 total bases, while Medina drove in 2 on 2-for-3 hitting at the plate.

In the opener, Dickinson simply couldn't get on track in the first two innings and fell to a 6-0 deficit before scoring 1 in the third inning on an RBI double from Weiler that plated Tschetter, who ended up with 5 total bases on 3-for-6 batting with a pair of runs and an RBI in Game 1.

The Roughriders kept clawing back, with Bast driving in Krieg and Olson on a single in the bottom of the fourth to close the deficit to 7-3. But while Bismarck again took a big, 9-3, lead on 3 more combined runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Daley scored on a ground-out from Seibel and an RBI double from Tschetter scored Krieg that closed the game to 9-5 and another 2 runs crossed the plate on a single from jeremiah Jilek to make the score 9-7 for the Govs.

Dickinson knotted the game at 9-9 on a 2-run dinger from Daley in the bottom of the sixth, which also scored Kovash, that sent the game into extra innings. Bismarck scored 1 run in the top of the ninth, but the Roughriders leveled on a groundout that scored Jilek and that was followed by Olson's fortuitous baserunning that ended the game on the wild-pitch. Oddly enough, the Roughriders had a man on third in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, including a 2-out triple from Bast in the bottom of the seventh, but they couldn't push that winning run across the plate until the 10th.

As a sidebar, it was senior-night for the Roughriders, with Bast, Seibel and Olson all being recognized for their contributions to the team during their careers with the program. Bast, who was escorted by his parents, Kristy and Jeff, played for three years with the AA team and the homeschool graduate will be heading to Augustana University on a baseball scholarship next year. Seibel was escorted by his parents, Louise and Derin, and the Dickinson High School graduate has played for the Roughriders the last two years while batting over .300. Olson has been with the Roughriders for three years behind the plate and on the mound and was escorted by his parents, Kelly and Preston.

In other American Legion action the Single-A Volunteers head out on the road to the West Region Tournament in Mandan today, and they will be in action there through Sunday, July 23.

For more information about the Dickinson Baseball Club and American Legion Baseball, please keep reading The Dickinson Press and/or visit

https://www.dickinsonbaseball.com/

.

Box Scores

Game 1

GOVS 411 120 001 0xx — 10 14 2

RUFF 001 242 001 1xx — 11 14 1

Batting

2B — Weiler, Tschetter 2. 3B — Bast. HR — Daley. TB — Kovas, Weiler 3, Bast 4, Olson, Tschetter 5, Daley 5, Jilek 2, Krieg. HBP — Bast, Olson, Daley. SB — Olson, Daley. LOB 13.

Pitching

Daley — 1.1IP, 1H, 5R, 5ER, 5BB, 0K

Weiler — 3.1IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 1K

Seibel — 1.1IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 0K

Bast — 3IP, 2H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 0K

Kovash — 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 0K

Game 2

GOVS 331 013 0xx — 11 14 1

RUFF 421 100 0xx — 8 8 3

Batting

2B Kovash, Bast. 3B — Tschetter. TB — Medina 2, Kovash 3, Bast 2, Weiler, Tschetter 4. SB — Kovash, Weiler 2.

Pitching

Kovash — 3IP, 10H, 7R, 4ER, 3BB, 0K

Seibel — 2IP, 3H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 0K

Daley — 2IP, 1H, 2R, 0ER, 2BB, 4K