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(NewsDakota.com) – Valley City State won two elimination games Thursday during the NAIA Unaffiliated Baseball Tournament in Jamestown.
The Vikings defeated Dickinson State 7-6 on Joe Demers’ walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, and then knocked out Dakota State 13-9 behind a solid pitching performance from Bryce Venaas.
The Vikings advance to play Mayville State at noon on Friday in another loser-out game. The winner will take on Jamestown College in the championship at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Both games will be broadcast on KQDJ 1400 AM and also streamed online at NewsDakota.com.
In VCSU’s second game, Venaas put together seven strong innings on the mound, allowing eight hits and five runs while striking out four. He left after the seventh inning with a comfortable 11-5 lead, and Nathan Stahl came on for the final six outs.
Brady Anderson and Mike Gershman both hit home runs in the win over Dakota State. Anderson, Gershman, Scott Stephenson and Dan Buehner all collected three hits apiece and combined to drive in 11 runs.
In the first game Thursday, Joey Demers delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth as Valley City State survived and advanced.
Demers’ one-out single with the bases loaded scored Colin Waldner and lifted the Vikings to a 7-6 win against Dickinson State.
VCSU scored three runs in the bottom of the first as they never trailed in the game. Dickinson tied it at 4-4 in the top of the fifth, but Scott Stephenson hit a solo home run to put VCSU back up 5-4 in the bottom of the inning. Dickinson again tied it in the seventh, but Josiah Churchill’s RBI single in the eighth gave VCSU a 6-5 lead.
Dickinson loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but Corey Pudas worked out of the jam with just allowing one run that tied the game at 6-6. That set up Demers’ ninth-inning heroics. Waldner led off the inning with a single through the left side, and then moved up to second when Dan Buehner drew a one-out walk.
Brenden Shearer was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and then Demers pulled a 2-2 pitch through the hole on the right side of the infield to score Waldner.
Stephenson had a big game at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Ronnie Blagg started on the mound for VCSU, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing five hits and five runs. Pudas earned the win in relief, working 2 2/3 innings and allowing one run on three hits.