Groseclose brothers lead Govs past Chiefs

The younger Groseclose brother did his job and then some, lashing a double to the left centerfield gap that brought in the elder Groseclose and gave the Govs what became the game-winning run as part of a four-run rally that led to a 10-6 Bismarck win.

"Through the first five innings, Mandan had come up with the big plays," Bismarck head coach Mike Skytland said. "Our guys did a good job of sticking with it until we finally had our chances and guys came up with big hits and big plays.

"We executed to get guys on, then when we got the big hit and took the lead, we had a few more good at bats to give ourselves a cushion."

"I was a little nervous because I had struck out in the at bat before, but you just have to wipe that," Tanner Groseclose said. "Especially in baseball, you have to have an empty mind in every at bat. To us lefties, (Dylan Gierke) was throwing a lot of off-speed pitches on the first pitch, and I jumped on that right away."

In a game that saw 20 hits land safely in various parts of the turf at Memorial Ballpark, Groseclose's seventh-inning double was just the second extra-base hit of the game.

The first had allowed Bismarck to tie the game up in the top of the sixth, when catcher Marcus Butts (2-for-4, double, HBP, 3 RBIs) whacked a two-out double to left, scoring Lucas Vasey (3-for-5, two runs, RBI) and Ben Watson (0-for-3, two HBP, two runs) to fill in a two-run deficit.

"That was huge, Mandan had been coming up with the big hit and then Marcus came up with the big hit to tie it," Skytland said. "Then Tanner had the big hit in the next inning. Those two seemed like the biggest plays of the game, but a lot of other things led to them too."

Bismarck's third and final extra-base hit of the game came later in the seventh off the bat of Michael Fagerland, scoring Gavin Lill for the Govs' 10th run of the game.

Though the Govs would finish the game outhitting the Chiefs 12-11, Mandan had the better of the offense through much of the game.

Bismarck had taken advantage of a brutal inning-extending throwing error on what looked to be an inning-ending double play grounder in the top of the first by Mandan starter Brayden Bunnell to put three runs on the board, but the Chiefs responded immediately with two of their own in the bottom of the inning and threatened for more throughout the first five innings.

"We did take advantage of that mistake (in the first), which put us in a good position, but give Mandan credit, they bounced back and were a focused team today that came to play," Skytland said. "They made us make plays and earn it."

"Seeing pitchers more than once helps throughout the game," Groseclose said. "You get their tendencies and go out and expect something, then when you get what you expect, you jump on it."

Mandan would tie the game up at three with a run in the bottom of the third, then took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a fielding error by Fagerland in right, which allowed Bunnell to score on a single by Jamison Nelson that had already driven in Dylan Gierke from third.

"Mandan had good approaches and they had kids with two strikes that had big hits," Skytland said. "They battled at the plate with good approaches and that made us work."

Fagerland's error may not have mattered had a close play on a steal attempt of third by Gierke gone Bismarck's way, as it appeared Gierke had been tagged out on the steal but was ruled safe by the umpire.

More fielding woes by the Governors gave Mandan an extra run in the bottom of the fifth, when first baseman Parker Sagsveen mishandled a two-out grounder from Gierke to allow Chiefs catcher Owen Brincks to come across for a 6-4 lead.

"We made a few mistakes, which is uncharacteristic of this group," Skytland said. "It's about how you bounce back from that when you do that. I don't think anybody hung their heads, we made the next play and that's all you can do."

Butts' double erased Mandan's lead in the next half-inning, and Ben LaDuke was brought in by the Govs to, eventually, finish out the game.

LaDuke faced one batter over the minimum in two innings of work while earning the win, with another error leading to a runner that reached third base with two outs in the sixth but inducing a groundout to end that threat and recording the game's only one-two-three inning in the seventh.

"(Ben) did a great job of throwing strikes and getting ahead of people," Skytland said. "The game is a lot easier when you get ahead."

Mandan left two runners on in the first and second, the bases full in the third and a single runner in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings for a total of 10 left stranded.

The Chiefs were led offensively by Gierke (2-for-3, walk, stolen base, two runs), Nelson (3-for-4, 3 RBIs) and Brincks (2-for-4, run). Mandan stole six bases against Butts and Bismarck's pitching staff, while the Govs were caught stealing in their only attempt.

Gierke took the loss in relief of Bunnell. Mason Oster came on in relief of Gierke and finished off the seventh.

"Anytime you see a guy two or three times, you might start to get a better read on the ball, but Gierke threw a good game and was tough out there," Skytland said. "We had Omaha and Fargo trips back-to-back, which is a grind, but our guys have done a good job of being ready to play every game, even when we're playing a lot of games, and hopefully that continues and is a sign of us being in this for the long haul."

Jace Groseclose reached twice and scored a run for Bismarck. Tanner was 1-for-3 with his double, was hit by a pitch, scored two runs and drove in his brother for the game-winning run.

"Baseball's a team sport, there isn't going to be one guy that carries you through a game, everybody has to piece it together," Groseclose said. "I had the sac bunt before me, then I went up there and did my job and everybody else did theirs (after me)."

Gavin Brice started for Bismarck but couldn't escape the third, allowing three earned runs on five hits and four walks. Aiden Johnson finished the third and got the Govs through the fifth, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits.