MANDAN -- Dickinson High head coach Pete Dobitz said he knows his team won't see another pitcher like Fargo Davies' Casey Quinlan for the remainder of Class A state baseball tournament.
The Midgets forgot about the offensive woes of Thursday's loss to Davies and struck early en route to a 4-3 win over Bismarck High in the consolation semifinals Friday at Veteran's Memorial Ballpark.
"I was really happy that we came out and set the tone early with the three runs in that first inning," Dobitz said.
Dickinson, who was silenced by Quinlan in the quarterfinals, got the bats going with four runs in the first two innings. Taylor Thiel led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a double.
The four runs were all James Kary needed to take control of the game. The junior right-handed pitcher threw six innings, allowing three runs (one earned), and scattering four hits.
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"James threw a pretty good game," Dobitz said. "He kept them off stride."
One area the Midgets did falter was in the defensive category. Dickinson had five errors, an uncommon occurrence in the last couple weeks of the season.
"We didn't clean it up defensively and that really hurt us," Dobitz said. "I think, out of the runs they got, one of them was earned, which is something we haven't done the last couple weeks. We've been playing clean defense."
Dickinson (19-12) also had Mason Schiff go 1-for-3 with a double and a RBI, while Alex Huschka added a double and Brett Braunagel had a RBI.
Huschka threw the final inning and sealed the save for the Midgets. The junior right-hander only threw six pitches to get out of the inning unscathed.
"He came right at the batters," Dobitz said. "He threw strikes early and he had two outs on two pitches. He let his defense go to work for him."
Zach Schuchard, Tyler Clairmont, Quinn Irey and Kole Bauer all supplied hits for the Demons (20-15).
On the first day of the state tournament all the East Region teams advance to championship round, while the West Region teams fell into the consolation side of the bracket.
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Dobitz compared it to being in the West Region Tournament for the second straight weekend.
"The East is on one side and West is on the other," he said. "We finished No. 1 in the West and we better finish No. 1 on this side of the bracket over here too. We have to prove that last week wasn't a fluke."
The Midgets play Bismarck St. Mary's in the consolation semifinals 35 minutes after the seventh-place game, or at approximately 1 p.m. today.
"We're familiar with St. Mary's, they are familiar with us. So it's going to be a matter of who is going to concentrate and make the plays they need to make," Dobitz said. "It also could be who is going to play with a little more pride and not feel sorry for themselves that things didn't work out. It's not all doom and gloom and we still have to play with that Dickinson Midget pride."
Bismarck 101 001 0 -- 3 4 0
Dickinson 310 000 x -- 4 5 5
Nathan Dinga, Tyler Richter (6) and . James Kary, Alex Huschka (7) and Brady Dutchak. W-Kary (7-1). L-Dinga. Sv-Huschka. HR-None.
Highlights: BHS, Zach Schuchard 1-for-3, 2B; Tyler Clairmont 1-for-3, 2B, run; Quinn Irey 1-for-4, run; Kole Bauer 1-for-4. DHS, Taylor Thiel 2-for-3, 2B; Mason Schiff 1-for-3, RBI, 2B; Huschka 1-for-2, 2B; Brett Braunagel 1-for-3, RBI.
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Records: BHS 20-15, DHS 19-12
