Demons find magic touch vs. Minot (2024)

The Demons have the taste of Magic in their mouth, and find it much to their liking.

In the two schools' second straight meeting in a state semifinal game, Bismarck got the better of Minot, as the Demons toppled the favored and second-seeded Magi 12-8 on Friday in Dickinson.

"It was a good win, the girls came out and hit the ball," Bismarck head coach Billy Schmidt said. "We played well until the sixth inning when we had a lull, but we had a good lead and we kept playing, we didn't get too down on ourselves."

Not three months ago, Bismarck thrilled Demons fans by downing a heavily favored Minot team in the Class A girls basketball semifinals.

Few of the girls from the Demons basketball team play softball as well, but one that does, Jersey Berg, has played a big role in Bismarck's success all season long, and it continued with a big day -- 2-for-4, double, walk, two runs scored and an RBI -- in the state semifinals.

"Jersey was also on the 2022 state team that won (the state title), they bring a lot of knowledge," Schmidt said. "She and Dru (Kautzman) are leaders, they strike out and make errors like the rest of the team, the leadership from them and Brielle (Wrangham) is amazing, it makes my job a lot easier."

But Friday's semifinal win had no bigger story than Berg's fellow senior and Bismarck pitcher Brielle Wrangham.

Wrangham pulled double duty with aplomb on Friday, twirling a complete game on the mound and going 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, two runs scored and three driven in at the plate.

"She's a great player, she'll do anything I ask of her," Schmidt said. "She's just a gamer, she loves the game. I don't know what more to say about her."

The Demons trailed 2-0 after the first, but a second-inning six-run rally -- keyed by a bases-clearing double from Dru Kautzman, an RBI single from Berg, and Wrangham smacking a two-run bomb, all of which took place with two outs -- put the Demons in front for good.

"The girls don't quit, I always tell them (when there are two outs) that they have one more out," Schmidt said. "You just have to go up and hit the ball. We barreled the ball up and went up with a good mentality. (Bartsch) was going to throw strikes, you just have to find one to hit."

Minot would get a run back in the bottom of the third, but Bismarck did their best to put the game out of reach with a five-run top of the fifth.

Izzy Owens started the rally with one out this time, knocking a home run off Minot starter Sydney Bartsch, who was pulled one batter later after hitting Kautzman.

Wrangham followed shortly after with an RBI single and Josie Schell drove in two with a single of her own.

"You just have to hit the ball and good things will happen," Schmidt said. "Izzy's been good, I like her in that No. 9 spot, she flips the lineup over more than not, she's not the automatic out you might have in that spot, she could be up in our order but she's a fast runner, she steals bases, I like having her there to do that. She's come up big for us a lot of times."

Minot proved they wouldn't be an easy out, putting together a five-run rally of their own in the bottom of the sixth.

But with the team's season hanging in the balance, Wrangham got a double-play lineout from Bartsch to end the inning.

"We had a play with the umpires where we thought we had an out but they overturned it and we gave up another run after that," Schmidt said. "The girl at first was running and they hit a liner to Josie and it got us out of the inning."

The Demons would add a run in the top of the seventh and get a clean inning from Wrangham in the bottom of the inning to beat the Magi for the first time in four tries this season.

"Getting that one in the top of the seventh was huge for a little insurance," Schmidt said. "Then the girls went back to what I'm used to them doing in the bottom of the inning, making outs and not getting overwhelmed.

"We executed a couple of plays to get that run and I thought it was big to get that one, that got momentum back on our side and then Minot went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning."

As in each of Bismarck's last two appearances in the state title game, their opponent will be Dickinson.

Led by pitcher Ava Jahner, the Midgets beat the Demons twice in the regular season in their only two meetings. Schmidt is hoping his team has that doubleheader fully out of their heads when they take the field tomorrow.

"They put on a good product year in and year out," Schmidt said. "Ava's a great pitcher, she's player of the year, all-state, she's been that since her sophom*ore year. She pitched against us in 2022, and I can't say enough about her and Jenna Decker their center fielder, they're a great team and you have to earn things against them.

"It'll take a big effort, but our girls have been playing well too. It'll be a fun one."

Legacy 12, Fargo North 8

Another big offensive performance by the Bismarck Legacy baseball team has the Sabers one win away from their first state championship after beating Fargo North 12-8 in the late game in Dickinson on Friday.

Legacy got a good-enough start out of senior Connor Grabow (5 IP, 7 H, 6 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 3 WP) and their offense put up runs early and often in support of their starter.

After opening with a three-spot in the first, Legacy rallied out of a 4-3 deficit with two runs in the bottom of the third, five more in the fourth and two more in the fifth.

Fargo North pulled within four at 10-6 in their half of the sixth and added single runs in the sixth and seventh, but Legacy's relievers Nate Heil and Logan Lawrence kept the Spartans off the board enough to secure the win.

Lucas Vasey, Drew Beasley and Ben Watson all had dominant offensive performances to send Legacy into the finals. Vasey was 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored atop the Sabers' lineup, Beasley was a cool 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and five driven in, and Watson capped a hard-to-beat top four in Legacy's lineup with a 2-for-2 day, adding a sac fly, a stolen base, two runs scored and one more driven in.

Jonah DeJong was the lone Fargo North hitter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and one driven in. Levi Sveet was 1-for-4 but drove in three runs. Charlie Kalbrener was 1-for-1 with three walks and three runs scored.

Brady Manly started and didn't survive the third for Fargo North. DeJong came on and got through the fourth. William Kenninger pitched the final two innings.

Fargo Shanley 4, Fargo Davies 3

In a battle between two of the best prep pitchers in North Dakota, Fargo Shanley's Jordan Leininger came out just ahead of potential MLB draft pick Drew Rerick, as Shanley walked off Fargo Davies 4-3 to reach the state championship game.

Davies jumped on Leininger early, scoring twice in the first and once in the third, but the senior hurler settled in and completed all seven innings, allowing six hits and five walks but striking out seven and allowing just the three runs.

Rerick started well but was touched up for a pair of runs on an Adam Leininger two-run homer in the fourth and couldn't close the deal in the seventh, allowing the game-winning run on a grounder to third by Sam Ovsak that his third baseman couldn't handle as the winning run came home.

Wyatt Kosidowski was 1-for-1 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, laid down a sac bunt, stole a base and scored two runs for Davies. Jaxon Beiswenger was 1-for-3 with a triple, a sac bunt of his own, a run scored and an RBI.

Landon Meier worked a walk ahead of Leininger's two-run homer in the fourth. Greg Noel was hit by a pitch to score the tying run in the seventh and Ovsak drove in Boden Meier for the winning run.

Dickinson 4, West Fargo 1

In the second of two softball semifinals on Friday, Dickinson was led as usual by a great performance from Ava Jahner in returning to the state championship game for the third straight season.

On the mound, Jahner allowed just two hits and one run to the Packers, walking six, hitting one and uncorking two wild pitches while striking out seven. At the plate, Jahner was 2-for-4 with a home run, a stolen base, one run scored and two driven in.

West Fargo's two hits came from Katelyn Kackman, who doubled once in four trips, and Aubrey Finn, who doubled and drove in the Packers' only run, which was scored by courtesy runner Jordyn Rosenthal.

Grace Wehri started for the Packers and went 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and all four Dickinson runs while walking four and striking out three. Finn came in as the Packers' reliever and finished off the final two-thirds of an inning, uncorking a wild pitch and striking out one but otherwise keeping her slate clean.

BASEBALL

Minot 11, Williston 1

Minot bounced back from their extra-innings quarterfinal loss on Thursday with a dominant win over Williston in the first loser-out game on Friday.

Led by five strong innings on the mound by Braden Nelson, Minot's offense put up five runs in the bottom of the sixth to earn a run-rule victory over the Coyotes.

Nelson allowed just four hits and one run to the Coyotes and chipped in two hits, a run scored and three RBIs at the plate. Kellan Burke closed out the game with one walk allowed but striking out two.

Carson Deaver was 3-for-4 with four stolen bases, three runs scored and two RBIs, Tyson Ruzicka was 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, three stolen bases and three runs scored and Aidan Diel was 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs for the Magi.

Garrett Solberg scored Williston's lone run in the fifth and had one of the team's four hits, their lone extra-base hit in a double. Kaeden Call was 1-for-2, Justin Irgens walked and Max Heen was 1-for-3.

Jayden Iba took the loss for Williston, not managing to clear the third inning. Heen got the Coyotes through the fourth on the mound and was lifted for Connor Ekblad in the fifth. Ekblad allowed the five-run rally to end the game in the sixth.

West Fargo Horace 9, Mandan 3

One six-run rally was the difference in Friday's second loser-out game, as Mandan fell 9-3 to West Fargo Horace, giving the Hawks their first-ever win in the state tournament.

Mandan already trailed 2-0 after starter Jamison Nelson had allowed a pair of runs in the top of the third, but neither Nelson nor reliever Marcus Bird Horse could get the Braves the final two outs of the top of the fourth, and the Braves were forced to turn to their third pitcher of the inning, Ty Weiler, to get themselves back in the dugout.

Mandan would rally for two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth, but with the Hawks adding a run in the top of the seventh, the six-run blowup became the difference.

Jett Collins was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two driven in, Cooper Fuchs was 3-for-4 with a run and RBI, Evan Krogen was 2-for-2 and Cason Borchardt was 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs for the Hawks.

Mandan's offense was led by a big day from Mason Oster, as he hit a home run in what became the Braves' final game of the season while going 3-for-3. Dylan Gierke chipped in a 2-for-4 performance with a run and RBI.

SOFTBALL

West Fargo Sheyenne 13, Mandan 8

After blowing a lead in Thursday's quarterfinal that had them poised to move on to the state semifinals, Mandan's first trip to the state tournament instead ends on a low note with a loss to West Fargo Sheyenne in the consolation bracket.

Sheyenne's offense jumped on a Mandan pitching staff worn down by yesterday's extra-inning game and scored in five of seven innings, including four-run fourth and seventh innings and a three-run second, racking up 20 hits to go along with their 13 runs.

Four Sheyenne hitters -- Lauren Schauer (3-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBIs), Makenna Alexander (3-for-4, BB, SB, 2 R), Kate Geiszler (3-for-5, 2 R) and Madison Aadland (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 5 RBIs) -- had three hits, with Aadland knocking Sheyenne's home run in the game.

Mandan's offense had their own moments, scoring three runs apiece in the bottom of the fifth and seventh, but couldn't match up to Sheyenne's run total in the end.

Leadoff hitter Ellie McElvaney led Mandan with one of the best offensive games of her career, knocking a solo home run and tripling twice, scoring three runs in total. McKenzie Yantzer was 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs out of the No. 2 hole. Hope Hanson had two hits.

Presley Tvetter started and earned the win for Sheyenne, pitching into the fifth before giving way to Mya Migler. Kaebry Weekes, Makenzie Miller and Alyssa Bitz were Mandan's choices to take the mound, with Bitz availing herself the best of the three by allowing just one run on two hits and a walk in closing out the seventh.

Grand Forks Red River 17, Fargo North 0, 5 inn.

A run-rule blowout started the Class A tournament off on Friday, with Grand Forks Red River dominating the East's top seed in Fargo North.

Red River put up five runs in the first, four more in the second and six in the third as Fargo North's Maryn Schneider and Jada Purdy struggled to get outs against a potent Red River lineup.

Nearly the entire Roughrider lineup had good days, but Ella Weippert in the leadoff spot had perhaps the best day of all, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and four driven in.

Catcher Ella Nelson was 2-for-4 with a run scored, Piper Clough stole a base and scored three runs, Taylor Kilgore was 2-for-4 with a double, stolen base, three runs scored and four driven in, Jocelyn Berg was 2-for-2 with two walks, a stolen base, a run scored and one driven in, and Brooke Dorsey was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and three RBIs for Red River.

Fargo North managed just four hits, with Olivia Kalbus, Aubrey King, Brooklyn Woodard and Purdy all singling.