Incredible postseason run ends for Warriors

DICKINSON, N.D. - After winning two elimination games Sunday, the Waldorf baseball team faced more win-or-go home games Monday at the NSAA Tournament. The Warriors advanced to the NSAA Championship Game but fell to top-seed Bellevue, ending their season.

Waldorf had an early morning game time, after ending their Sunday slate late at night following an 11-inning win over Viterbo to advance to Monday's set of elimination games. The Warriors faced Valley City State to start the day. They used that late-night momentum into scoring early Monday. Warriors' starting pitcher Ryan Meyer easily retired the Vikings in the top of the first. The bottom half of the inning started with a Rylee Rauch single for Waldorf. Kolby Amaral and Atticus Smith later reached to load the bases. Rauch scored the game's first run on a wild pitch and advanced the other runners to scoring position. Robert Gurney singled to center to score both Amaral and Smith to give Waldorf a 3-0 lead. Waldorf added to their lead in the second. Juan Jorge doubled to lead off the inning. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and later scored on another wild pitch to give Waldorf a 4-0 lead. Amaral and Zach Meyer later added RBI hits to add to the lead. Valley City State never really threatened to get back in the game as Ryan Meyer and the Warrior bullpen held VCSU at bay. Meyer allowed one run on five hits over five innings. Trevor Brace allowed only one hit over two innings. Ryuyo Kato pitched the final two innings and struck out three while not allowing a hit. The 7-1 win was Waldorf's third-straight elimination game in a 24-hour span and moved the Warriors to their first NSAA Championship Game appearance.

The opponent in the championship round was No. 1 seed-Bellevue. The Bruins had not lost yet in the tournament which meant that Waldorf would need to beat Bellevue twice to win the championship while Bellevue needed only one win. The game started out great for Waldorf. Rauch doubled to right to lead off the game. Two batters later, Zach Meyer's RBI single through the right side plated Rauch to get Waldorf on the scoreboard first. Later, with the bases loaded and two outs, Nathan Westfield singled to right center to score two and give Waldorf a 3-0 lead. Warriors' starting pitcher Gavin Williams kept the powerful Bellevue bats scoreless through three innings. The Bruins would break through in the fourth. A home run and a triple were part of a four-run frame that gave Bellevue a 4-3 lead. Waldorf regained the lead in the top of the fifth. Ian Carr singled to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Amaral smacked a deep shot over the right field fence for a two-run home run that gave the Warriors a 5-4 lead. Bellevue gained control of the game in the bottom of the fifth. A three-run home run was part of a six-run frame that gave the Bruins a 10-5 lead. Bellevue added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings and put up four more in the eighth to take a 16-5 lead. Peter Ordonio hit a two-run home run in the ninth to give the game its 16-7 final score.

Waldorf was 4-2 in their final NSAA Tournament before they head to the Great Plains Athletic Conference next season. They finish the 2024 season with a 23-28 record.