State Babe Ruth North Dakota Day 3 Recap

LaMoure, ND- Six teams entered Sunday with the hopes of advancing to the final four with a shot at a state championship on Tuesday. Two elimination games and one game that secured a championship bid with a bye on Monday.

Evan Skibitskee tossed a complete game for Park River in the first elimination game, knocking off Central McLean 6-1. His Pirates teammate Owen Brown knocked in two runs to give Park River the early lead and never looked back.

LaMoure and Gwinner faced off in the final elimination game of the afternoon. Starting pitchers Joey Potts and Harry Neustal both exited after allowing four runs by the 3rd inning. Easton Thielges took over for LaMoure and Elijah Hanson for Gwinner and each threw shutout ball until Gwinners Anthony Ferderer laced a go-ahead single in the late innings, propelling Gwinner to a 6-4 victory to secure a date with Park River on Monday at noon.

The nightcap featured Casselton and Thompson with a bye on Monday and automatic championship round appearance at stake. Thompson took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning before Casselton stormed back with seven runs in the next half inning to make the score 7-1. Thompson rallied behind Dex Avdem’s offense, scoring the next three runs in the 5th and 6th innings, but ultimately came up short with Casselton winning 8-4.

Thompson remains alive and will have to play their way through the bracket tomorrow for a shot at a championship round appearance.

Casselton awaits the Monday results to determine who they will face for the Babe Ruth State Championship on Tuesday.