Pioneers 9... Bismarck State 8 (8 Innings)
Jessen West (SS - Billings, MT) delivered a clutch one out double that drove in Coleman Parry (1B - American Fork, UT) with the winning run in the bottom of the 8th as the Pioneers rallied from 3-run deficit in the the 7th inning to post a 9-8 win in the opening game of MonDak Conference play.
The Pioneers trailed 8-5 going to the bottom of the 7th and tied the game with 3 runs in the inning. West and Taichi Fuchinaga (2B - Honolulu, HI ) were both hit by a pitch and moved up a base on a passed ball. With one out, Tanner Goertz (Highlands Ranch, CO) delivered a RBI single that scored West and moved Fuchinaga to 3rd and cut the Mystic lead to 8-6. Goertz moved to 2nd on a passed ball before Luke Wilson (C - Calgary, Alberta) hit a sacrifice fly RBI to drive in Fuchinaga and Goertz remained at 2nd. Lucas Smith (Post Falls, ID) came in to pinch run for Goertz and subsequently scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 8-8 and send to extra innings.
The Pioneers started off the scoring with 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. Brady Bickett (CF - Rapid City, SD) and Jace Notbohm (DH - Miles City, MT) both singled and advanced a base on a passed ball. Kade Mosley (3B - Miles City, MT) grounded out to 2nd base while Bickett scored and Notbohm moved to 3rd. Coleman Parry singled to drive in Notbohm and the Pioneers led 2-0. West hit a triple to drive in Parry and Fuchinaga singled to drive in West.
Bismarck scored 4 runs to tie the game in the top of the 2nd inning before the Pioneers reclaimed the lead with a run in the bottom of the 3rd. Parry walked, West singled, and Fuchinaga followed with a RBI single and a 5-4 lead. The Mystics answered with 3 runs in the 6th and another in the top of the 7th for the 8-5 lead.
Max Holden (Kalispell, MT) got the start and pitched 5 innings (4 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 7 SO) before being replaced by Tyler Cutler. Cutler failed to record an out (H, 2 R, 2 BB) before being replaced by Jace Notbohm. Notbohm pitched one inning (2 H, R, 2 BB, 2 SO). Sam Hall (Eureka, MT) got the 7th inning (H, R, SO) and Spencer Searcey (Denver, CO) pitched a perfect 8th inning to pick up the win.
Inside the Box Score
- The Pioneers cracked 13 hits compared to 8 for the Mystics.
- Bismarck State had all singles.
- Each team had 3 stolen bases.
- Pioneer pitchers struck out 10 Mystic batters. Pioneer batters struck out 9 times.
- MCC had 2 errors and BSC had 0.
- West and Fuchinaga had 3 hits each. Parry and Goertz had 2 hits each.
Game 2 - Pioneers 3... Bismarck State 4
Bismarck State started the game with 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning following the exciting 1st game. MCC tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the 2nd starting with a Parry solo home run. West was then hit by a pitch and Fuchinaga walked. West scored on a fielder's choice ground out by Wilson to cut the lead to 3-2. Dyson Kinnaman (Belgrade, MT) came in as a courtesy runner for Wilson and stole 2nd and 3rd base. Kinnaman scored on a RBI single from Bickett.
The game stayed tied at 3-3 until the top of the 5th when BSC smacked a solo home run. Neither team could find any offense from their and Tuesday ended as a split.
Trae Awbery (Miles City, MT) got the start for the Pioneers and pitched 5 innings (7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) before being replaced by Lance Bratlien (Helena, MT) for the final 2 innings (BB, 3 SO).
Inside the Box Score
- The Pioneers had only 4 hits in the game. The Mystics had 7.
- Both teams committed 2 errors.
- MCC had 5 stolen bases (Kinnaman 4) and BSC had none.
- Pioneer batters struck out 10 times and Mystic batters struck out 7 times.
The Pioneers are 14-11 on the season and 1-1 in MonDak Conference play. The two teams will play another doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon starting at 1:00 PM.