Wolves fall to Ryan for Region baseball title
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
For the second year in a row, Watford City’s baseball team will be sitting at home while Minot Ryan will represent the region at the State Class B Baseball Tournament.
The Wolves cruised through the much rain-delayed tournament defeating Trinity Christian 6-0 before falling to Minot Ryan 2-1. Watford City then battled back in the loser-out bracket, defeating DLB 12-3 before losing to Minot Ryan again 6-1.
“We had an excellent year,” stated Justin Johnsrud, Wolves’ head coach. “We ended the season with an overall record of 19-9 and we finished as the Region 2 Runner-up for the second straight year behind a very good Bishop Ryan team.
While the Wolves’ defense was solid most of the season, he says that poor hitting in the regional tournament may have cost Watford City its first trip to State.
“We improved defensively in the field every game and were a very good defensive team from the middle of the season on,” said Johnsrud. “We just didn’t hit the ball well enough in the Region Tournament to advance past Bishop Ryan.”
Trey Jacobson, Douglas Rolfson, Dillon Langerud, and Ben Haugeberg were named to the All Region team.
Watford City 6, Trinity Christian 0
Douglas Rolfson may have lost his perfect game, but more importantly, he pitched a shutout as the Wolves defeated Trinity Christian in the second game of the Region 2 Baseball Tournament.
“Doug pitched an excellent game,” stated Johnsrud. “Through 5-2/3 innings he had a perfect game going. Then he issued his only walk of the game and his no-hitter was broken up by three Trinity Christian hits in the bottom of the 7th inning.”
In his shutout win, Rolfson struck out six batters, while giving up one walk and three hits in seven innings of work.
At the plate Reid Johnson and Shawn Fulwider were two for three.
“We were very aggressive on the base paths and forced a couple of Crusader errors to get a couple of extra runs,” stated Johnsrud. “The wind was gusting to 65 mph on Tuesday and blowing straight in so you had to try to move runners any way possible.”
R H E
Watford City 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 6 5 0
Trinity Christian 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2
Minot Ryan 2, Watford City 1
Watford City left seven runners on base as the Wolves fell to Minot Ryan 2-1 last Wednesday in Region 2 Baseball action.
While Watford City had a chance to take the lead in the top of the seventh inning on a Dillon Langerud single, Douglas Nordby was thrown out at home by Ryan’s center fielder.
“Trey Jacobson pitched very well and our defense was outstanding,” stated Johnsrud. “It was a very well-played game by both teams. We just couldn’t get that one big hit when we needed it.”
Jacobson walked the lead-off batter in the bottom of the 7th and then Johnsrud brought in Nick Liebel to complete the inning.
“Ryan bunted the lead-off batter over to second and then a ground ball moved him to third,” stated Johnsrud. “With two outs and a runner on third, a wild pitch sailed just over Langerud’s glove to give Ryan the win.”
R H E
Watford City 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 2
Minot Ryan 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 0
Watford City 12, DLB 3
After losing to Minot Ryan, Watford City came back to pound Des Lacs Burlington 12-3 on Wednesday in Game 4 action.
Nick Liebel picked up the win on the mound for the Wolves striking out two batters while giving up three walks in seven innings of pitching.
“DLB was the hottest team in the tournament,” stated Johnsrud. “They came in the 5th seed and upset Trinity Christian (#2) and NSPPB (#4) to get to the loser-out semifinal game.”
With the game tied at 1-1 after two innings, Watford City exploded for seven runs in the third inning to give the Wolves the cushion they needed.
“The seventh inning was huge for us,” stated Johnsrud. “All seven of our runs came with two outs.”
The two-out rally started as Watford City got two runners on board with walks and then an error loaded the bases. Reid Johnson then delivered a bases-clearing triple.
R H E
DLB 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 6 4
Watford City 0 1 7 0 0 4 X 12 8 1
Minot Ryan 6, Watford City 1
Watford City got off to a slow start trailing Minot Ryan 3-0 after the first inning of play as the Wolves fell to the Lions 6-1 in the Region 2 title game on Saturday.
“We struggled at the plate and had a difficult time getting runners in scoring position,” stated Johnsrud on the Wolves’ loss. “We still played very well defensively.”
Watford City scored their only run of the game in the top of the second inning with Minot Ryan adding three more runs late in the game.
Doug Rolfson took the loss on the mound for the Wolves.
R H E
Watford City 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 1
Minot Ryan 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 6 7 0