DICKINSON, N.D. — No. 3 seed Dickinson State was held to three hits Thursday night in a 2-0 loss to No. 2 seed Valley City State in the Frontier Conference Baseball Championship at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark.
The loss moved Dickinson State to 25-24 overall and sent the Blue Hawks into an elimination game Friday against No. 4 seed Dakota State. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Valley City State scored once in the second inning and once in the fifth. Evan Gonzalez gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to right field in the second. Nick Senn added an RBI single in the fifth after Connor Hoyt reached base and later scored.
Dickinson State stayed within reach behind Mason Lunzman, who worked eight innings and allowed two runs on nine hits. He struck out six and threw 126 pitches.
The Blue Hawks had limited chances against Valley City State starter Connor Martin, who threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings. Martin allowed two hits, walked five and struck out 10. Takao Cookson recorded the final four outs and struck out three to earn the save.
Wyatt Wilharm led Dickinson State at the plate with two of the team's three hits. The Blue Hawks drew five walks but left five runners on base and struck out 13 times.
Dickinson State entered the game after a 14-4 win over Bismarck State earlier Thursday. The Blue Hawks will now need to win Friday to remain alive in the double-elimination tournament.
