Williston ace Brian Qvale buckled down when it mattered most.
With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Qvale struck out Dickinson No. 3 hitter Cole Frenzel and cleanup batter Ben Herauf to stifle a Midgets' rally, allowing Williston to escape with a 6-4 victory in a West Region baseball game Friday at Southside Municipal Ballpark.
"We're definitely proud of winning this game," Qvale said. "(Starting pitcher) Quinn (Devlin) did a good job of pitching."
Qvale had a comfortable 6-2 lead when he entered the game in the final inning thanks to Devlin's six innings of work.
Devlin earned the win by allowing just two runs on three hits while striking out seven. He retired all three batters he faced in the sixth inning.
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Enter the Randy Johnson-esque Qvale, who stands 6-foot-11.
After walking the first two batters, Qvale allowed Kyle Schroeder to reach on an infield single to load the bases. Stephen Laylock pinch-hit and drew a walk to bring in a runner.
Qvale got leadoff hitter Tyler Steffan to groundout to shortstop, but sent another run across the plate when he walked Travis Tooley.
"It's definitely not the situation you want to be in," Qvale said of facing two of Dickinson's best hitters with the bases loaded. "I was aiming too much."
Qvale fixed his problem and took Frenzel and Herauf down on strikes to end the game.
"I'm not sure if he got enough work in the bullpen," Williston coach Brad Westphal said. "He's capable of throwing better than that. Brian has been a good pitcher for us that last couple of years."
"(I) can't ask for a better situation," Dickinson coach Pete Dobitz said, "(but) even Major Leaguers don't come through all the time."
Things might have been different for the Midgets if not for the five runs they spotted Williston in the first two innings. Dickinson starting pitcher Jamie Ollila ran into trouble right away and struggled recovering. He gave up two runs in the first and another two in the second before being pulled for reliever Michael Steve, who recorded a solid 5Zc innings of work.
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"Michael Steve deserves a lot of credit," Dobitz said. "He gave us a chance."
The story of the wood bat continues to shine through this season. Williston had five hits and Dickinson was limited to four.
Qvale and Devin Kvernum each had two-hit performances for the Coyotes. Leadoff hitter James LaQua and No. 9 batter Nathan Wingerter went to the plate a combined nine times, but never logged an at-bat. LaQua walked twice, was hit twice and sacrificed. Wingerter sacrificed three times and walked once.
Steffan led Dickinson. The junior center fielder went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs batted in and a run scored. Tooley and Kyle Schroeder had the Midgets' other two hits.
"It took until the last inning before our guys showed any fire," Dobitz said. "I was happy to see that our guys were excited about playing baseball."
