Riders put pieces together in finale

• Mason Schiff

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Dickinson Roughriders second baseman Mason Schiff, left, steps on the base and throws over Williston’s Jeff Beckman, right, to complete the double play on Friday at the Southside Municipal Ballpark. Schiff led the Roughriders’ offense in the opener with three hits and four RBIs.

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Dickinson didn’t have to pride itself just on pitching and defense in the regular season finale.

The bats were rumbling and the Roughriders’ second baseman Mason Schiff accounted for three hits and four RBIs in opening game 8-2 win, but dropped the nightcap 5-2 against Williston in a non-divisional American Legion doubleheader game on Friday at the Southside Municipal Ballpark.

“It was a good step in the right direction coming into state,” Schiff said. “We need to get some mojo going for us and we were really relaxed.”

Schiff was a home run shy of the cycle as he hit, in order, a double, single and triple. All three hits drove in runs and the biggest hit was a two-run triple in the fourth inning.

“It wasn’t anything different than any other day, I just felt like I could see the ball a little bit better and could barrel things up better,” Schiff said. “I didn’t realize it (a home run would give him the cycle) until after the game and my family was telling me about it.”

Along with solid approaches at the plate — 20 of the 21 outs were put into play — Dickinson had a magnificent performance on the mound. Aaron Berg threw seven innings, allowing two runs, one walk and striking out five.

“I just mixed up my pitches,” Berg said. “Coach called a good game, I just threw them where he wanted and it worked it out well.”

After the Roughriders were able mount a quality lead, Berg said him and catcher Brady Dutchak were working well together.

“I had a lot of confidence in him (Dutchak) to knock down a ball if I threw it in the dirt with a run on,” Berg said. “That confidence just lets you throw accurately.”

Williston made some noise early as Jeff Beckman ripped a two-run double hugging the left-field line in the first inning. Those were only two runs Williston was able to muster.

“After we jumped out with a quick two runs, I figured we could keep the bats going,” Beckman said. “Aaron Berg just managed to keep us shut down and he was hitting his spots.”

Dickinson scored in four of the six innings including a three-run first and fourth. Brett Braunagel went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a double. Dutchak added two hits and a RBI, while Korey Kallenbach and Dylan Skabo each supplied hits.

“Timely hitting is one of our big keys,” Schiff said. “We pride ourselves on defense and pitching, and then we always need that timely hitting. Today we got that.”

With the Roughriders offensive performance, the Williston pitching staff suffered. The starting pitcher Huck last 1/3 of an inning, while Hoven pitched four innings in relief and Sam Falcon finished the final 2 2/3 innings.

“Our pitching was quite where we wanted it to be,” Beckman said. “We left a lot of balls up.”

In the nightcap, Williston pounced with a five-run third inning. Caden Lerbakken led the way going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while Huck added a 2-for-3, one RBI performance.

Oliver Sogard was on the mound for Williston firing seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out two.

Korey Kallenbach was he counterpart for Dickinson throwing seven innings, allowing five runs and striking out three.

Luke Herauf and Berg led the Roughriders offensive going 2-for-3 with a RBI and 1-for-2 with a RBI, respectively.

Dickinson’s head coach Cory Hansen said he’s happy with how the team is playing heading into the North Dakota Legion State Tournament as the Roughriders open against Jamestown at 10 a.m. Thursday at Veteran’s Memorial Field in Mandan.

“Hopefully when we get to state, we’ll get some breaks, timely hits and good pitching performances,” Hansen said. “The overall record is not what we were looking for, but we’ve really grown as a team.”

Williston 200 000 0 — 2 4 0

Dickinson 310 310 x — 8 10 2

Lane Huck, Trenton Hoven (1), Sam Falcon (5) Jacob Brokaw and Huck (1). Aaron Berg and Brady Dutchak. W–Berg. L–Huck. HR–None.

Highlights: W, Jeff Beckman 2-for-2, 2RBI; Caden Lerbakken; Brokaw 1-for-3. D, Mason Schiff 3-for-4, 4 RBI, 2B, 3B; Brett Braunagel 3-for-3, 2 RBI, 2B; Dutchak 2-for-3, RBI; Korey Kallenbach 1-for-3; Dylan Skabo 1-for-1, 2 BB.

Williston 005 000 0 — 5 9 2

Dickinson 000 200 0 — 2 6 2

Oliver Sogard and Huck. Korey Kallenbach and Mark Erickson. W–Sogard. L–Kallenbach. HR–None.

Highlights: W, Lerbakken 3-for-4, 2 RBI; Huck 2-for-3, RBI; Brokaw 1-for-3; Beckman 1-for-3; Sogard 1-for-3; Josh Soheim 1-for-2. D, Luke Herauf 2-for-3, RBI; Berg 1-for-2, RBI; James Kary 2-for-3.

Records: W 21-21, D 14-25.

Tags: american legion baseball, dickinson roughriders, sports, baseball