MANDAN, N.D. – Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg pitcher Pitcher Ian Chandler didn’t baffle the Velva-Drake batters in Friday’s semifinals of the state Class B baseball tournament. Until they got on base.
Chandler scattered 11 hits in six innings as MPCG beat the Aggies 6-4 to advance to tonight’s title game for the first time in school history.
Chandler struck out six and walked one and picked off two baserunners in a chaotic first inning.
“Everybody is looking for outs, whether it’s a pickoff or a ground ball or a strikeout or whatever,” MPCG coach Eric Nygaard said. “Ian pitched well. He got an out when he needed one.”
Velva-Drake starter Isaac Effertz struggled with his control in the first inning before settling down. He hit Conner Moore, gave up a single to Chase Knudson and hit Aaron Ust to load the bases. But Effertz struck out Jacob Klath to end the threat.
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The Patriots, despite a pair of base-running mistakes, took a 1-0 lead in the first on Nick Effertz’s single. That hit, one of four by the Aggies in the inning, plated Shad Vedaa. But Nick Effertz and Brady Engebretson were each picked off first by Patriots’ lanky lefty Ian Chandler.
“That gets our team hyped,” Chandler said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
MPCG trailed 1-0 going into the fourth inning. It came out leading 5-1 thanks to two hits and three big errors,” including the drop of a lazy fly ball to centerfield and a base-loaded walk. The Aggies also let a high-fly ball to right fall without making a play.
Given a cushion to work with, Chandler got busy.
“I was still on my toes, we still had a lot of game to go,” Chandler said of his first-inning Houdini act. “I kept my focus.”
The Aggies picked up a run in the fifth on Nick Effertz’s single. They tacked on two more to make it 5-4 in the sixth on Brady Engebretson’s two-out triple. That scored Kobe Bright and Isaac Effertz, who reached on a fielder’s choice and single, respectively.
Engebretson’s throwing error in the seventh gave the Patriots a cushion.
Jacob Klath finished up with a scoreless seventh for the save.
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Aaron Ust and Alec Chandler had two hits apiece for MPCG. Engebretson, Shad Vedaa and Nick Effertz had two hits each for the Aggies.
