FARGO -- The Grand Forks Red River baseball team got a little help on its way to the East Region championship game.
Fargo Davies committed seven errors and watched a 5-0 lead disappear and turn into an 8-6 loss to Grand Forks Red River in the region semifinals at Jack Williams Stadium on Friday.
Davies took a 5-0 lead into the fourth, but three errors in the inning pulled the Roughriders within 5-3.
Carter Sanden's single plated a run to put Davies up 6-3, but Red River scored three in the bottom of the sixth to tie it.
The sixth began with a bloop single, a walk and an infield single to cut the lead to 6-4. Jayce Turner put down a bunt single and Davies threw it into the outfield to make it a 6-5 game.
ADVERTISEMENT
A dropped ball on a toss to first on a grounder with two outs allowed the Riders to tie it at 6-6.
GFRR didn't need any errors in the seventh. Three singles and bases-loaded walks to Eric Leach and Danny Iverson put the Riders up 8-6.
Colin Hennessy came in and got a 1-2-3 seventh for the save.
The Roughriders will play the Packers at 4 p.m. today for the East Region title and Davies will try to keep its season alive and get to state against Grand Forks Central 40 minutes after the 11 a.m. game ends.
West Fargo 2, Fargo North 1: West Fargo had just had a nightmare inning. Two fielder's choices went completely wrong and Fargo North had taken the lead on one of the mistakes by the Packers. Throw in a couple of walks and it was everything the Packers didn't want in an inning.
There was just one mistake by Fargo North.
"We came into the dugout and the coach said the momentum is on our side because they had a huge chance and only got one," West Fargo pitcher Ben Strahm said. "It's tough to beat us with one run."
North didn't beat the Packers with one, as West Fargo knocked off the Spartans 2-1 to punch a ticket to state and to Saturday's East Region baseball tournament championship Friday at Jack Williams Stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We put some guys on and made a mistake there and kind of gave them a run," West Fargo coach Brett Peterson said. "The main thing was we only gave them one. It could have been an inning that snowballed and could have been an entirely different game, but Strahm was big."
A leadoff single started things in the top of the third for North. On a sacrifice bunt from the next batter, Strahm tried to get the lead runner at second, but threw the ball too high and everyone was safe.
The Spartans helped out the Packers by getting caught too far off second base for an out and the next batter struck out, but back-to-back walks loaded the bases. A grounder to third seemingly had West Fargo out of the inning, but the third basemen tried to beat the runner to third for the force and couldn't, plating North's Mitch Christianson for a 1-0 lead for North.
West Fargo struck with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. A single and a walk put runners at first and second before Marcus Wohl's two-out single drove in Hayden Reynolds to tie the game. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth and runners on the corners for West Fargo, Krohl hit a grounder up the middle that was bobbled by the North shortstop, plating Matt Hewitt to put the Packers up 2-1.
Strahm sent down North 1-2-3 in the seventh. He went all seven innings, striking out nine, while giving up two hits and three walks.
GF Central 2, Wahpeton 0: Alex Severson pitched Grand Forks Central past Wahpeton in loser-out play.
Cole Kirchoffner, Nick Lund and Brock Reller each went 1-for-3 to lead the Knights at the plate. Kirchoffner and Lund scored in Central’s two-run sixth inning.
Fargo Shanley 4, Fargo South 3: Fargo Shanley’s Jake Erholtz was 3-for-3 with a double to lead the Deacons past Fargo South.
