We’re not done yet: Wahpeton keeps state tourney hopes alive

King (6.2 IP, 9 Ks) carried a no-hitter into the fifth before surrendering a pair of singles. The second hit nailed him in his right arm and deflected into shallow right field. He recovered to strike out the next batter, before forcing an infield fly to Riley Thimjon at third base for the final out. King’s pivotal moment came in the sixth inning on his 98th pitch of the game. With two outs, a full count and the bases loaded, he uncorked a high heater to strike out Lukas Klabunde and keep the contest scoreless.

“Jayden did everything possible to give us an opportunity to win the game,” Wahpeton Head Coach Chris Kappes said. “How can you ask for anything else outta your pitcher? Unfortunately, we just didn’t give him the run support to win the game.”

Wahpeton loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and appeared poised to defeat Kindred by a single run for the fourth consecutive time. Caden Hockert hit a grounder to third and Tori Uhlich bolted full throttle toward home. Uhlich couldn’t stop his momentum on the force play at the plate, extending his arms to brace for contact and knocking the catcher to the dirt. After a brief conference between the umpires, Uhlich was out, Hockert was out due to interference and the game was headed to extra innings.

“It was a gigantic play. If he gets down, we avoid the whole thing,” Kappes said. “Now, when Tori’s about six feet from the plate, the catcher is straddling the line and he doesn’t have the baseball, so maybe the interference could’ve went the other way for obstruction. Tori put his arms out to cushion any contact and he peeled away from the catcher. That play doesn’t end the ballgame for Kindred, what it does do is takes the opportunity away from us to win. The bottom line is we just can’t put the umpires in the predicament to make that call.”

Kindred broke the ice in the eighth on a ground ball RBI to shortstop Caden Kappes, who caught Klabunde in a pickle between first and second and chased him down for the third out. Wahpeton tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom half when Jack Rittenour scored Josiah Breuer on a suicide squeeze. Breuer was running for Thimjon, who walked to begin the inning.

Kindred enacted its long awaited revenge in the ninth, using a double, an error and five walks to extend its lead and advance to the championship round with a 5-1 win. Kindred went on to defeat Casselton, 2-0, to win the region.

Wahpeton needed a win Saturday morning to avoid being eliminated. Hockert struck out the Fargo Vets’ leadoff man looking on three pitches to begin the game. Thimjon turned an unassisted double play with a nice stretch by Josiah Hofman at first base and it became clear Post 20 was focused. Uhlich painted the first base line with a leadoff double, Gavin Schroeder laid down a bunt single and Caden Kappes plated a run on a groundout to give Wahpeton a 2-0 lead.

Post 20 and the Vets combined for only seven hits. Tanner Boehm pitched a fine game for the Vets, throwing six innings and allowing two runs. He allowed four hits and did not walk a batter. Hockert and Kappes allowed three hits and seven walks in the shutout effort, striking out five. Both Wahpeton pitchers made nice defensive plays on sacrifice bunts to record outs. Kappes fanned the final batter of the game on a breaking ball in the dirt. Jaxson Fliflet blocked the baseball and delivered a dart to Hofman at first base to send Wahpeton to state with a chance to defend their 2021 championship.

“We did enough to qualify and now we’re one of eight teams in the state playing for an opportunity to win a state championship. Everyone goes in with a 0-0 record,” Coach Kappes said. “I feel pretty good about being the four seed. Everyone knows everyone at this point. It’s playoff baseball.”

Wahpeton played its worst game of the season in the third place game vs. the Jets, falling 7-1 and dropping them to the No. 4 seed in the east bracket of the North Dakota Class A State Tournament. Two bad innings vs. Kindred and the Jets created a perfect storm that shook Wahpeton. As a team who entered the tournament with eight one-run wins this season, Post 20 was sure to see the best version of its region foes.

Williston (west) and Kindred (east) were both No. 5 seeds in their respective regions. They will enter the state tournament as No. 1 seeds, an indication of how deep and talented the Class A bracket is. Wahpeton plays Williston at 10 a.m. Friday, July 29 to start the tourney.

Art Grochow was inducted into the North Dakota American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame prior to the East Region Championship. Grochow has worked baseball games for 33 years as a coach, umpire, announcer, tournament manager and groundskeeper. Grochow played legion baseball in Harvey and has umpired numerous district and state tournaments throughout North Dakota. In total, Grochow has been a legion member for 49 years. He was nominated by longtime friends Sean and Stan Hanson.