The Grand Forks American Legion baseball team had John Greicar. Fargo Post 2 did not.
That was, in so many words, the difference on a misty Saturday night in West Fargo.
Greicar's dominating plate performance powered Grand Forks to an 11-1 win in the championship game of the North Dakota Eastern Division Tournament at Veterans Memorial Field. The game was stopped after seven innings due to the 10-run rule.
The third baseman was 3-for-4 with six RBIs and a run scored in the contest.
"He's been our top hitter all year," said Grand Forks coach Gabe Dahl of Greicar. "He hit around .430 (this season). So, yeah, he just picked where he left off."
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Greicar's big hit came in the top of the second inning when he took a 1-0 delivery from Post 2 starter Max Rusch over the fence in left-center field. The three-run homer broke the game open, putting Grand Forks (26-16) ahead 6-1.
"He threw me a fastball. I was hoping he would, and he did," Greicar said. "So it came, and I just put a good swing on it, and it carried, I guess."
He also had a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly in the contest.
Actually, Greicar was dialed in all weekend. In his two tournament games, Greicar went a combined 7-for-9 with seven RBIs and two runs scored.
"The ball's been looking pretty fat for me lately," Greicar said.
The offense provided by Greicar and Co. proved to be more than enough for Grand Forks starter Alex Kreis.
After allowing the only run to Fargo (33-26) in the first - which was unearned - Kreis took control, shutting Post 2 down.
In seven strong innings, he allowed just six hits, while walking four and striking out nine.
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"Kreis pitched a great game, I mean, he really did," Fargo coach Bill Ibach said. "He was a little wild, but when he needed to, he came with strikes, got big outs."
Jamestown defeated West Fargo 2-1 in 13 innings.
For more on West Fargo's loss, see C2.
For the championship game's box score, see Scoreboard on C2.
Grand Forks 11, Fargo 1
- The story: Both teams advance to next weekend's state tournament in Fargo.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Chris Lempesis at (701) 241-5544
