April 22, 2014

Wolves sweep Ray in baseball action

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City swept the Ray Jays in double-header action under very cool weather conditions last Tuesday
The Wolves won the first game 11-3 and then took the second game 2-1.
This week, Watford City will take on two regional opponents in home action as the Wolves host Stanley on Thursday and New Town on Friday. On Saturday, Watford City will be on the road as they take on Des Lacs-Burlington and Minot Bishop Ryan.
“Stanley and New Town are young baseball teams,” states Justin Johnsrud, Wolves’ head coach. “But the game against Des Lacs-Burlington will be an important game in the region standing.”
While Saturday’s contest against Bishop Ryan will not be a regional matchup for the Wolves, Johnsrud is looking forward to the game.
“Bishop Ryan has a very good ball club year in and year out and we are excited to have them on our schedule,” states Johnsrud. “It should be a good test for our team and we will need to play a complete game in order to compete with them. We have hit the ball very well in the early part of our season and will see some good pitching on Saturday. Hopefully, we will continue to improve and be playing our best baseball at the end of the season.”
The Wolves also took on the Williston JV on Thursday with the Wolves varsity picking up an 11-0 win in the first game and the Coyotes taking the second game 7-3 against a Watford City split squad.
Watford City 11, Ray 3
Watford City 2, Ray 1
Watford City picked up two wins over Ray on Tuesday as the Wolves easily defeated the Jays in the first game scoring 11 runs on eight hits.
Watford City led Ray 1-0 after the first inning, but a nine-run second inning set the tone for the win. All of Rays’ runs came in the fourth inning, but the Jays never challenged.
While Watford City’s offense was solid, so was its pitching and defense.
Quayde Shores picked up the win on the mound for the Wolves as he struck out 10 batters, while giving up just six hits and walking six batters.
At the plate Trent Grimes was two for three with three RBIs.
“This is Ray’s first year of high school baseball and they have a very young and inexperienced team,” stated Johnsrud. “Our young pitchers did an excellent job of throwing strikes and forcing Ray to beat us with their bats. Our defense did have a couple of errors but that is almost expected while playing in such cold temperatures.”
With the win, the Wolves moved to the top of the Region 7 standings with a 3-0 record.
The Wolves also won the second game coming out on top 2-1. Preston Milstead picked up the win for Watford City as he struck out 10 batters, while giving up three walks.
Game 1                                                        R    H    E
Ray                    0    0    0    3    0    0    0    3    6    0
Watford City     1    9    0    1    0    0    x    11    8    2
Game 2                                            R    H    E
Ray                    0    0    1    0    0    1    5    0
Watford City     0    1    1    0    x    2    6    2

WATFORD CITY WEATHER