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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) A week after the Valley City Saints won the AA State Championship for men’s amateur baseball,  a group of former and current Viking players helped the Jamestown Merchants to the AAA State Championship.

It was a steamy Sunday afternoon, but the summer heat wouldn’t be enough to hold the Merchants down. In the state championship VCSU stand out’s Scott Stephenson, Thomas Houdek , Preston Jensen, and Joey Demers all helped the Merchants to a 8-3 win over the Jamestown Elks.

The Merchants received strong pitching in the championship game from starter Brandon Baumgartner, who allowed just one run through seven innings of play.  It wasn’t until the fourth that the Merchants would take the lead. It happened when Demers blasted a two run double that would score fellow Viking teammate Houudek along with Nick Salentine. The Merchants would never again lose the lead, finishing the year with a 22-6 record, and taking the title for the first time since 2008.