BASEBALL: Centaurs drop off late, fall into losers bracket with 8-1 loss
Jul. 24—FERGUS FALLS — Things got away from the Bemidji American Legion baseball team in a hurry on Friday.
The Centaurs surrendered five runs to Moorhead in the seventh inning of the Sub-State 14 winners bracket final, and the Blues separated in a big way for a suddenly comfortable 8-1 win in Fergus Falls.
The loss means Bemidji must win three straight elimination games between Saturday and Sunday in order to reach the state tournament.
Friday's game looked destined for a photo finish for much of the afternoon. Although Moorhead got on the board with Jacob Hendrickson's solo home run in the top of the first, Ben Corradi tied it up a half inning later for the Centaurs with an RBI single that scored Isaiah Biehn.
The score stayed idle through four thanks to a pitchers' duel between Biehn and Gavin Gast. Biehn went six-plus innings for Bemidji, ending his day by allowing three runs off five hits while striking out seven.
The damage was done in the fifth and seventh innings, though, when the Blues scored seven total runs. Two in the fifth were manageable, but the dam broke in the seventh.
Hendrickson clubbed a two-run home run to right center — his second homer of the day — for a 5-1 advantage. After Biehn was lifted, the bullpen saw two more runs score on an error, and the final run came across on a sacrifice fly for the 8-1 difference.
The Centaurs went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, which officially dropped the Sub-State's top seed into the losers bracket.
Bemidji will next face fifth-seeded Detroit Lakes in the losers bracket final at noon on Saturday, July 24.
Saturday's winner advances to the championship series against Moorhead immediately after, where they'll need to beat the Blues twice in order to claim the title. Game one of the championship series is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday and, if necessary, game two will take place at noon Sunday, July 25.
Moorhead 8, Bemidji 1
MHD 100 020 5 — 8-7-3
BEM 100 000 0 — 1-5-4
WP: Gast (CG, 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)
LP: I. Biehn (6+ IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K)
