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Pioneers Win Two to Advance to Region XIII Championship

Pioneers Win Two to Advance to Region XIII Championship
Posted: May 15, 2023

Pioneers 7... Williston State 4

The MCC Pioneers had a tought time generating offense on Sunday afternoon but put together back to back 3-run innings in the 5th and 6th that was just enough to pull out a 7-4 win over Williston State in round 1 of the Region XIII Playoffs. 

The game was scoreless going to the bottom of the 5th inning and 2B Jessen West started the inning off with a single. SS Jaeden Jordahl reached base on a Teton error and West moved to 3rd. LF Grant Gabbert walked to load the bases and MCC got their 1st run of the game when C Takumi Kimoto walked to score West. With one out, CF Kruz Slevira hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Jordahl. 3B Lane Neill was hit by a pitch to load the bases again and Gabbert scored when the Teton pitcher was called for a balk. 

Williston State quickly got 2 of those runs back in the top of the 6th but the Pioneers added 3 more in the bottom of the 6th when RF Matt Burton was hit by a pitch and West walked. The runners moved a base and Burton scored on a sacrifice fly by Jordahl. West moved to 3rd on a passed ball and Gabbert walked. West scored on a Teton wild pitch and Gabbert moved to 3rd. Gabbert scored on a Kimoto ground out. 

MCC tacked a big insurance run in the bottom of the 7th when pinch hitter Kam Kostial hit a massive solo home run to the back row of the Connors Stadium football bleachers. The Tetons tacked on 2 runs in the top of the 8th to make things interesting but they would get no closer. 

Jeremy Gee got the start for the Pioneers and when 7 innings strong (2 R, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 SO). Gee gave way to Patrick Dietz in the 8th inning for 0.2 innings (2 R, 3 H, BB) and Cam Murphy finished the final 1.1 innings (2 H, 2 SO).

Inside the Box Score

  • MCC was outhit by the Tetons 11-6.
  • Williston had 2 errors and the Pioneers had 1.
  • Kruz Slevira had 3 of the Pioneers 6 hits. 
  • MCC took advantage of 10 walks and 3 hit batsmen.
  • The Pioneers had 4 stolen bases and the Tetons had none.

 

Pioneers 11... Bismarck State 1 (5 innings)

Bismarck State rolled in as the defending Region XIII Champions. The Mystics were quickly rolled in to the losers bracket by a hot hitting Pioneer team that saw a strong pitching performance from Bridger Erickson. The Pioneers got on the board in the 1st inning and then scored 7 in the 4th to put the game away and move the Pioneers to the Region XIII Championship on Monday afternoon. 

MCC started quickly when Jaeden Jordahl walked and Grant Gabbert was hit by a pitch. Both players stole a base and with one out DH Tommy O'Connell hit a line drive single for 2 RBI. The lead doubled in the 3rd inning after a Jordahl singled, Gabbert doubled to right field and Jordahl scored. With one out, Gabbert stole 3rd and O'Connell drew a walk. Gabbert scored on a wild pitch to make the score 4-0. 

The bottom of the 4th proved to be the demise of the Mystics on this day. Jessen West singled and with one out Gabbert was hit by a pitch. Takumi Kimoto singled to score West. O'Connell knocked in his 3rd RBI of the game with a single that scored Gabbert. Kruz Slevira walked to load the bases. With 2 outs, 1B Spencer Searcey notched a 2 RBI single and brother Wyatt Searcey followed that with a 2 RBI single of his own and the Pioneers led 10-0. West reached base on an error and Jordahl promptly singled to drive in W. Searcey for an 11-0 lead. 

Bismarck State got a home run in the top of the 5th but it was not enough to extend the game as the Pioneers moved to the title game with a 11-1 win in 5 innings. 

Bridger Erickson had a strong game on the mound going 5 innings (R, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 SO). 

Inside the Box Score

  • The Pioneers outhit the Mystics 10-4.
  • O'Connell had 3 RBI and the Searcey brothers each had 2.
  • The Pioneers drew 5 walks and had 2 hit batsmen. MCC also had 4 stolen bases. 
  • BSC drew only 2 walks and did not steal a base. 

MCC is now 37-12 on the season and will play the winner of Williston State/Bismarck State on Monday at 3:00 PM. The Pioneers are one win away from the North Plains District Title series. WSC or BSC would had to defeat the Pioneers twice to advance.