Nelson County/Midkota and New Rockford-Sheyenne each stayed alive through the first day of their respective region tournaments.
In the Region 2 tournament, No. 5 seed NC/M (7-9) beat No. 4 seed Hatton/Northwood (7-9) on Saturday, 5-4, at Scott Berry Field in Mayville. The Chargers advanced to Tuesday’s slate, guaranteeing at least two more games.
In the Region 3 tournament, No. 4 seed NR-S (11-8) won 7-4 over No. 5 seed Kidder County (4-11) on Monday at Townsend Field in LaMoure. The Rockets advanced to play another game on Monday, which they lost 11-1 to No. 1 seed LaMoure-Litchville/Marion/Edgeley (9-3). But their season remained intact going into Tuesday.
Region 2
Brody Rainsberry pitched the Chargers to an upset win over H/N, keeping their season alive.
The senior right-hander allowed four runs — but only two earned — in a complete game to pace the way for a 5-4 victory. Rainsberry struck out 10 batters, walked only one and allowed eight hits. He threw 119 pitches (80 strikes).
Catcher John Molina went 3-for-3 and scored two runs to lead the offense.
Molina led off the second inning with a double, and the Chargers manufactured him home to go up 1-0.
NC/M added two each in the fourth and fifth. Brendan Lenz and Cooper Hovdenes both had RBI singles, and Caleb Rainsberry added a sacrifice fly.
H/N scored two on a double by Aiden Johson in the fifth, then got another run back on a dropped fly ball. The Thunder cut the Chargers’ lead to 5-4, but Rainsberry never allowed them to complete their comeback.
Rainsberry saved some of his best stuff for the late innings. He struck out two batters in a perfect sixth, then allowed just a two-out single while striking two in a scoreless seventh.
NC/M advanced to a Tuesday matchup with No. 1 seed Hillsboro/Central Valley at 11 a.m.
Region 3
The Rockets rode a seven-run fifth inning to beat Kidder County 7-4 and advance to a second game on Monday.
They trailed 3-0 after four innings, giving up one in the first and two in the fourth. The first-inning run was unearned; the Wolves put four hits together in the fourth.
The first nine NR-S batters all reached in the bottom of the fourth. Thomas Allmaras, Skye Kramlich and Easton Simon had successive RBI hits. The Rockets took the lead on an error, and then Layton Jacobson and Jaxon Simon hit back-to-back singles to extend the lead to 7-3.
Jax Demester pitched all seven innings for NR-S. Working with a lead, he surrendered a solo shot in the sixth inning but nothing else the rest of the way.
Demester allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits in seven innings. He struck out five batters and walked three. He threw 99 pitches (66 strikes).
After securing the win, the Rockets’ next game got going shortly thereafter. They could not handle the No. 1 seed in a rematch of the last two nine-man state championship football games. L-L/M/E totaled 14 hits in an 11-1 five-inning win. NR-S was hurt by six errors.
Kramlich, the Rockets’ starter, was tagged for 12 hits in three innings of work. He allowed nine runs, although only three of them were earned. He struck out two batters and didn’t permit any walks.
NR-S may have tamed Gunner Thielges in football, but the Loboes’ standout senior pitched five innings of one-run ball and went 2-for-4 with two RBIs out of the leadoff spot to get the latest laugh in baseball. Colby Thielges went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the two-hole.
The Rockets scored their lone run in the top of the third. Demester hit a leadoff double and came around on a Kramlich groundout. It cut the deficit to 4-1 at the time.
The Loboes broke it open with a five-run bottom of the third that included five hits and two infield errors.
Kason Nass pitched the fourth for NR-S. He allowed two runs, both unearned.
Thielges retired the final eight Rockets batters.
NR-S moved to a 12 p.m. Tuesday matchup with No. 6 seed Carrington. It is an elimination game, with the winner playing in the fourth and final game of the day on Tuesday. By the end of Tuesday, there will be three teams left, with the tournament wrapping up on Wednesday.
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