WILLISTON — Devils Lake will have up to two chances to win a state title on Monday.
The Storm (31-7) stayed unbeaten in the Class A Legion state tournament on Sunday, winning 4-2 over Casselton Post 15 (19-18) at Ardean Aafedt Stadium for their 18th consecutive victory and fourth in this tournament. Devils Lake had already secured a spot in Monday’s championship game no matter what — but this win gave the Storm more leeway, granting them the luxury of being able to lose Monday and get another chance to complete their championship run.
“Oh my gosh, it feels amazing,” Devils Lake second baseman Max Palmer said. “We lost to these guys last year in that big winner-move-on game, but this year it feels great. Started off a little slow. … We kept matching them or putting some more on them.”
Sunday was a rematch of the East Region championship.
The Storm faced an early 1-0 deficit but got enough offense from key two-out hits by Max Palmer and Hunter Remmick.
“Two outs, that’s a big spot to be in,” Palmer said. “You’ve got to be ready to hit. You’ve got to want to be in the box there in that position. If you want it, you can definitely go grab it.”
Devils Lake’s coaching staff had a choice between starting Mason Palmer and Cayden McCarthy on the mound. They chose McCarthy, saving Palmer for Monday’s championship.
McCarthy was a worthy option in his own right: He threw a shutout in the region tournament to lower his ERA to 2.68. The only concern was that this was his second straight start against Casselton. The coaches usually try to avoid having a pitcher face the same opponent in that close proximity.
“We went back and forth: Was it gonna be Cayden or was it gonna be Mason?” Devils Lake coach Eric Nygaard said. “We just thought, ‘You know what? Cayden did well against them the first time; let’s just throw him out there again. Then we have Mason to come back in the championship game.’”
Casselton did the same thing, using right-hander Carver Kasowski against Devils Lake for the second straight time. The Storm had taken a few innings to get going against him in their previous meeting.
“He is good. He mixes pitches really well,” Max Palmer said. “He throws his curveball for a strike and his changeup for a strike most of the time. But when he throws that fastball, you’ve got to be ready for it. Hunt fastball and then react to those offspeed pitches.”
How Devils Lake beat Casselton again
McCarthy was remarkably efficient through the first two innings. In the first inning, he induced three consecutive fly outs to left field. In the second, he induced three consecutive fly outs to center on just four pitches.
His pitch count was at 13 through two scoreless innings.
McCarthy even got a fly out to right field to start the third inning. But a one-out single ended the pattern, and then McCarthy had to grind. Casselton went back to the top of the order with two outs and loaded the bases via a walk and a single. The Haymakers’ dugout grew rowdier as the frame wore on, doing synchronized cheers and over-the-top reactions to try to ruffle McCarthy’s feathers.
The first run of the game came in on a wild pitch.
McCarthy induced a popup to short, holding the deficit at 1-0. He had to throw 28 pitches in the frame.
“I don’t think we threw an offspeed pitch until probably the third inning,” Nygaard said. “We just wanted to pepper the strike zone with strikes, get ahead with his fastball.”
Kasowski worked around a leadoff baserunner in each of the first two innings. But Brody Rainsberry sparked the Storm in the third inning with his third bunt hit in the last two games. He stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Taydon Triepke tied the game with an RBI groundout.
Then, with two outs, Max Palmer drew a huge blow. After a 3-0 count became 3-2, Palmer lined one up the middle for a go-ahead RBI single.
“I had two strikes on me, so I was gonna give my team a chance, put the ball in play,” Palmer said. “And whatever happens, happens. But I put a good swing right up the middle. Felt good to score an RBI there.”
McCarthy settled back in for the fourth and fifth innings. He struck out two in a 1-2-3 fourth and worked around an error in a hitless fifth, striking out another.
Devils Lake got another monumental two-out run in the fourth inning. Ben Larson and Rainsberry worked back-to-back walks, and Remmick cashed in with a single to right-center.
The Devils Lake lead became 3-1.
“That is awesome to see,” Nygaard said of the Storm’s two-out hitting. “It’s just one of those things that you’ve just got to find a pitch that you like to hit and try to hit it where they’re not.”
Kasowski struck out three in the fifth inning to finish his outing with six strikeouts. He threw 104 pitches in five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks.
“That Kasowski throws well,” Nygaard said. “And we had fits with him the first time we played them in the region tournament. He’s just a competitor. Kept our guys off balance. And at certain points we got frustrated, but we just got timely hits. Guys got on some bases. And yeah, it was a grind, for sure.”
Casselton got one back in the sixth after starting the inning with back-to-back singles. The run scored on a double play, which was just about the best possible outcome for McCarthy in that situation.
Leading 3-2, the Storm added an insurance ran in the bottom of the sixth for good measure. Fausten Olson hit a leadoff single and scored on a balk, of all things.
McCarthy had no issues with the rambunctious Casselton lineup to finish it out. He struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh.
McCarthy struck out five while only walking one in his third consecutive complete-game effort. He threw 91 pitches (58 strikes) and limited Casselton to four hits.
“The first couple of innings they were hitting the ball on the barrel, and that just kind of played into what we were trying to do,” Nygaard said. “And then he got his offspeed, his curveball and his changeup, and they were both effective, too. So I felt he kept them off balance today.”
Devils Lake moves to a 12 p.m. game Monday against the defending state-champion Fargo Post 2 Jets, whom they beat in the second round of this tournament. If the Storm win that game, then they’re state champions. If they lose, the teams will play again at approximately 2:30 p.m.
“Fargo’s a good team. They’re definitely gonna put up a good battle against us,” Max Palmer said. “So we can’t come in lackadaisical knowing we have to lose two. We’re gonna try to come in, just win the first one and make it easy.”
And yes, the vaunted Mason Palmer is expected to pitch. Devils Lake remarkably got this deep into the tournament without having to use him on the mound. He’s unquestionably their ace when healthy.
If something goes wrong, or if Devils Lake loses the first game, there are still plenty of other kids potentially available like Ben Brodina, Triepke, Tayven Wiberg and more.