Following an 0-2 start to the Essentia Health Legion Baseball Tournament in Kindred, Wahpeton got back into the win column Saturday behind the right arm of Rylan Flack.
The Post 20 pitcher tossed a complete game shutout in a 1-0 victory over Mandan, holding the A’s to three hits while striking out nine. He did not allow a hit after the second inning.
Flack placed 61 of his 84 pitches inside the strike zone and issued a single walk.
Wahpeton manufactured the winning run in the bottom of the sixth when Aiden Hajek sparked the lineup with a two-out double to the fence in left center. Braxton Heitkamp entered the game to pinch run and Cayson Pinsonneault plated him with a single to shallow left.
Flack returned for the seventh frame and worked around a walk by striking out the side to earn his second win of the season. The workmanlike effort lowered Flack’s season ERA to 4.15 across 30 ⅓ innings.
Wahpeton closed the tournament with a 9-2 loss to Kindred in the nightcap. Post 20 held a 2-0 lead after four innings, before five errors opened the door for Kindred to grab the lead in the fifth and sixth.
Carter Hockert took the loss on the hill, allowing six earned runs through five frames. The righty held Kindred to four hits and struck out seven. He issued four walks and hit two batters while throwing 103 pitches.
Ryan Braun delivered an RBI single for Wahpeton’s only hit. Eli Kappes and Brayden Steffens scored one run each.
Post 20 is now 10-14 on the season.
