PATIENCE PAYS

• Kyle Breen

Press Photo by Chris Aarhus Dickinson shortstop Kyle Breen looks at the umpire while tagging out West Fargo baserunner Cole Mapes in the second game of their doubleheader Thursday at Southside Municipal Ballpark.

Talk about it

Often times, Dickinson’s patient approaches to the plate get overshadowed by its power.

On Thursday at Southside Memorial Ballpark, the Roughriders weren’t swinging at anything they didn’t approve of.

Dickinson took advantage of 10 walks issued by West Fargo pitching, coming away with a six-inning 11-1 victory in the second game of a Class A American Legion baseball doubleheader. The Roughriders earned the sweep with a 25-5 win in the opener, which lasted just five innings due to the 10-run rule.

The sweep means Dickinson (15-1 state) has earned at least a share of the state’s regular-season title. One win against Fargo Post 2 today would lock up the top spot for the state seeding tournament, which starts Thursday in Minot.

To get this sweep, Dickinson coach Andy Emard said his team stayed true to its offensive formula.

“Our offensive philosophy is to be very patient,” Dickinson coach Andy Emard said. “We don’t swing until we get the pitch we want.”

West Fargo starter David Johnson, along with reliever Kolby Schmidt, weren’t exactly wild, just missing the strike zone on a couple 3-2 counts. However, the Patriots (8-12 state) couldn’t find the zone when it counted. Six of Dickinson’s 11 runs reached on base on balls.

“Recently, we’ve really been struggling putting it across the plate,” West Fargo coach Shannon Miller said. “You can’t set Dickinson up like that. They’re too good.”

The Patriots scored their lone run in the third inning after giving up two in the first and one in the second. Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, things got ugly quickly.

Ben Herauf walked and Tyler Steffan belted a home run over the right-field fence for the first two runs in what turned out to be a seven-run inning from which the Patriots couldn’t recover. Cole Frenzel capped scoring with his 19th homer of the season, a two-run shot that gave him two in the doubleheader.

Needing just one run in the bottom half of the sixth, Tyler Steffan doubled to get on and scored on a one-out single to right field by Caleb Burgard, who finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored. Steffan was 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs batted in.

West Fargo was led at the plate by Eric Benson and Jon Schroeder, both tallying two hits.

Dickinson starter Ben Herauf used a barrage of curveballs to take home the victory. He allowed one run on eight hits while walking three and striking out four in the complete-game effort.

“I felt like I could throw my curveball more effectively than my fastball,” Herauf said. “It’s only my third start of the year. I got ahead in counts and my defense played well behind me.”

Dickinson 25, West Fargo 5 (5 innings)

In the opening game, Dickinson needed just four innings of offense to outscore the Patriots by 20 runs.

The Roughriders scored six runs in each of the first three innings and then, added a seven-run fourth to finish it. Frenzel finished 4-for-4, with a home run, double and four RBI and Steffan and Laylock each had three hits.

Dickinson starter Eric Seiler labored through five innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits.

West Fargo started the game on a strong note, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. The Patriots added one more in each of the third and fourth innings.

West Fargo starter Luke Steckler suffered the loss. The Patriots were led by Spencer Flaten’s 2-for-2 performance.

Dickinson 25, West Fargo 5 (5 innings)

WF 301 10 — 5 10 2

Dickinson 666 7x — 25 15 1

Luke Steckler, Alex Pribula, Bryant Sanderson and Jonny Schroeder. Eric Seiler and Michael Steve.

W–Seiler. L–Steckler. HR–D, Cole Frenzel (18), Peters.

Highlights: WF, Spencer Flaten 2-for-2, walk, 2B, run. D, Frenzel 4-for-4, 2B, 2 runs, 4 RBI; Stephen Laylock 3-for-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Tyler Steffan 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI; Ben Herauf 2-for-2, RBI, BB; Seiler 1-for-1, 4 walks, 4 runs, 2 RBI; Tommy Peters 1-for-3, 3 RBI.

Dickinson 11, West Fargo 1 (6 innings)

WF 001 000 — 1 8 3

Dickinson 210 71x — 11 6 3

David Johnson, Kolby Schmidt (5) and Schroeder. Herauf and Steve.

W–Herauf. L–Johnson. HR–D, Frenzel (19), Steffan.

Highlights: WF, Eric Benson 2-for-3, Schroeder 2-for-3. D, Steffan 3-for-3, walk, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 runs; Caleb Burgard 2-for-4, run, SB; Frenzel 1-for-3, run, 3 RBI.

Tags: legion baseball, sports, roughriders