Dickinson High senior pitcher and infielder Brett Schweitzer said it best: one early game isn’t going to make or break the Midgets’ baseball season.
“We have 17 ball games left, we’ll be alright,” Schweitzer said. “We have a lot of time to figure a lot of things out and we’ll be alright at the end.”
Bismarck Century capitalized on four Dickinson errors en route to a 5-1 West Region win on Thursday at Southside Municipal Ballpark and Astoria Field. Dickinson responded with a nonconference win against the Patriots 5-0 in the second game.
“We were putting the ball in play and were making Dickinson play defense,” Century co-head coach Mike Gustavsson said. “In the early part of the year, that’s a big thing. We want to put the ball in play and we want the defense to come up with a big play.”
Schweitzer started the Midgets’ season opener. The senior went 6 1/3 innings, allowed four runs (one earned) and struck out two. Dylan Skabo closed out the final 2/3 innings and allowed one run.
He admitted there was a little bit of nerves starting the first varsity game.
“This was the first game and all we just had those jitters early on,” he said. “We had a couple early errors that turned into runs, but I don’t think it was a bad game. We played solid, but we just didn’t put the ball in play and get runs.”
The Midgets struggled finding the big hit. Dickinson struck out to end the inning three times with runners in scoring position.
Century used three pitchers, which didn’t give Dickinson many chances. Logan Krivoruchka, who picked up the win, started and went 3 2/3 innings. Tanner Wolf and Dalton Feeney combined to pitch the final 3 1/3 innings. Gustavsson said this was the first time this season the Patriot pitchers threw off the mound.
“Pitchers threw really well,” he said. “We had a pitch limit on them, obviously, and that’s why they came out when they did, but they did a great job.”
The Patriots put up two runs in the second inning after Luke Leingang hit a two-run single, which scored Mason Przybilla and Joel Thune. Chandler Aafor posted a RBI single in the third inning and Cyril Nagurski and Dalton Feeney came around to score a pair of unearned runs in the seventh inning.
Dickinson junior center fielder Joe Mayer drove in the team’s lone run in the fourth inning. Mayer hit a RBI single to right center.
The Midgets’ Dylan Wallner, Cole Anderson and Skabo each supplied hits in the opening game.
Dickinson managed to come away with the split against the Patriots with the help of a solid pitching performance from Spencer Murphy and Wallner. Murphy picked up the win after pitching four innings. The two pitchers allowed three hits over five shutout innings.
Michael McChesney and Skabo each supplied a pair of hits. Skabo tallied two RBI, while McChesney had one. Tanner Hopfauf also posted a RBI.
The Midgets continue their season traveling to West Region opponent Bismarck High at 3:30 p.m. today.
“We talked after the game and the big thing we talked about is how we lost that it’s something we can fix,” Dickinson head coach Pete Dobitz said. “There wasn’t a lack of hustle or skill. It’s not something that’s a big fix. We just have to clean the game up. That’s the message we tried to get across to the boys.”
Century 021 000 2 - 5 6 2
Dickinson 000 100 0 - 1 4 4
Logan Krivoruchka, Tanner Wolf (4), Dalton Feeney (7) and Chandler Aarfor and Mason Przybilla. Brett Schweitzer, Dylan Skabo (7) and Mark Erickson.
W–Krivoruchka. L–Schweitzer. HR–None.
Highlights: C, Luke Leingang 1 for 1, 2B, 2 RBI; Wolf 1 for 3, run; Joel Thune 1 for 4, run; Aarfor 1 for 2, RBI; Przybilla 1 for 4, run; Krivoruchka 1 for for 4. D, Joe Mayer 1 for 2, RBI; Brett Schweitzer run; Dylan Wallner 1 for 3; Cole Anderson 1 for 4; Skabo 1 for 3.
Century 000 00 - 0 3 1
Dickinson 021 20 - 5 7 1
Spencer Murphy, Dylan Wallner (5).
W–Murphy. L–Name. HR–None.
Highlights: D, Dylan Skabo 2 hits, 2 RBIs; Michael McChesney 2 hits, RBI; Tanner Hopfauf RBI.
