LAMOURE, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Oakes Post 36 baseball team could not get the bats going while LaMoure Post 19 and Lisbon Post 7 had great pitching and defensive efforts to clinch District 7 Championship game berths.
GAME 1: LaMoure 11, Oakes 1 (6 inn)
The first semifinal game saw the top 2 seeds in the tournament squaring off. The #1 seed Lamoure put out stud Anthony Hanson on the mound. #2 Oakes gave the nod to Conor Schall.
The game started off well for Oakes with three straight hits leading to a one run lead with Fletcher Willprecht, Schall, and Howie Neustel getting base hits. The potential rally was then stopped with an excellent catch at third by LaMoure’s Tate Mart resulting in a double play.
LaMoure would ride that momentum into the bottom half of the inning and put the first two batters across the plate with Mart and Connor Johnson getting singles and stolen bases, a story that would continue throughout the game. Hanson would get in on the action with a single and scoring off of a Cyle Warken single. The inning would end with Lamoure up 3-1.
The 2nd and 3rd innings was when Hanson really settled in. Two 1-2-3 innings with 4 punch-out’s between them.
LaMoure would put three more runs across in the second inning chasing Schall from the mound. Colton Ness, James Sandness, and Mart all scored with Sandness and Mart having singles. Corbon potts would also pick up a RBI single scoring Mart. Schall was replaced on the mound by Brogan Roney who stopped the bleeding and ended the inning with a score of 6-1.
The middle innings were rather quiet with no scoring again till the 5th inning when Warken, Cael Hebl, and Ness all singled and scored chasing away Roney and bringing on Michael Iverson. The fifth would end with a 9-1 score.
Oakes was unable to get anything going on offense with only three hits after the 1st inning and were further stymied by an extremely effective Hanson being extremely effective throughout the game.
LaMoure would end the game in the 6th inning. Landon Piehl would single then score after a Warken triple. Warken would then be brought home by Hebl to end the game with a score of 11-1.
The winning pitcher was Hanson (6ip, 6h,1r, 0BB, 8Ks) and the losing pitcher was Schall (1.1ip, 6h, 6r, 0BB, 1K). LaMoure would move on to play the winner of Oakes and Lisbon.
GAME 2: Lisbon 7, Oakes 0
Oakes continued to struggle at the plate and simply could not get anything going all game long against Lisbon Post 7.
Oakes would give the ball to Steele Hansen with Lisbon giving the ball to Kashden Wadeson.
Steele Hansen gave 4 innings of absolutely lights out pitching. Only allowing 1 hit in the first four innings and striking out 4 in the game. Lisbon was unable to put anything together till the 5th inning.
Oakes had trouble as well. Wadeson struggled at the start of the game loading the bases on a couple walks and a fielder’s choice after getting the first two batters. However Oakes was unable to put anything together and the two out potential rally was ended by a David Schmitz fly-out to right field.
Oakes’ first hit came in the second inning with a Bryley Haberman double that was followed with a Roney HBP to put two on with one out before Wadeson calmed down and got the next two batters.
The middle innings were quiet with no one being able to get a hit till the top of the 5th inning.
Lisbon got the scoring started in a big way in the 5th inning. Mike Nelson singled with one out but Hansen would strike out Brandt Levos to make it two outs. Then Wadeson would double, scoring Nelson; this was followed by a Wyatt Olson single to score Wadeson. Jayden Bittner would single as well bringing in Olson. This was followed by a Cam Opp moonshot to right field making it 5-0. Hansen would leave and Howard Neustel would come into pitch in relief.
Oakes was simply unable to respond as Wadeson was able to make the batters hit the ball at people and would work out of jams with ease. He would walk two in the 6th but also picked up a strike out and induced weak contact to end the 6th to maintain the lead.
Lisbon would put two more across the plate in the 7th with Bittner singling, Opp doubling, and Grady Wehlander singling to make it a 7-0 lead.
Oakes was able to get a hit and put a runner in scoring position in the 7th but once again Wadeson induced weak contact forcing a fielder’s choice to end the ball game.
Oakes would strand 10 men on the base.
The winning pitcher was Wadeson (7ip, 2h, 0r, 6BB, 4Ks) and the losing pitcher was Hansen (5.2ip, 4h, 5r, 0BB, 4Ks).
LaMoure now takes on Lisbon in the Championship game tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. for the right to play in the State Tournament. You can hear the game on KDDR 1220 AM/100.3 FM The Tornado, stream it online at newsdakota.com, or on The Tornado app.