JAMESTOWN -- The Jamestown Hounds have captured their first North Dakota AAA amateur baseball state title since 2022 with a 10-5 win over the Jamestown Merchants on Sunday, Aug. 24, at Jack Brown Stadium.
"It feels good to be back, after two years it's just a good feeling," Hounds right fielder Kyle Leapaldt said.
The Hounds got off to a fast start in the bottom of the first inning when Kyle Leapaldt hit a run scoring double to make it 1-0 which was part of a five-run frame that saw the hosts chase the Merchants starter Ethan Claus after only a third of an inning.
"That definitely wasn't ideal. We were hoping to get a few solid innings out of our starter and then go to the bullpen and keep it close," Merchants captain Bryan Erstad said. "But when you get in that big hole right away it's hard to come out of. We battled hard there in the fourth just couldn't get much going other than that."
The Hounds continued to add on in the third with the biggest swing coming from Brian Rice who hit a two-run single to right to score two runs and push the lead out to 9-0.
The Merchants punched back in the top of the fourth when Preston Jensen hit a single to score a run and trim the deficit to 9-1. That kickstarted a five run inning on four hits and one error to bring the deficit to within four at 9-5.
The Hounds got one back in the fifth when Brian Rice reached on an error allowing Brady Anderson to score and make it 10-5.
"That was big to get one more anyway just to give us a little more cushion," Leapaldt said.
At the plate, the Hounds were led by Kyle Leapaldt's 3-for-3 day with one RBI and two runs. The Merchants were led by Jesse Munsterman and Tommy Linn who each went 2-for-4 with one run.
On the mound, the Hounds went turned to Kelton Agnes who pitched a complete game giving up four earned runs on six hits while striking out one hitter and walking three. The Merchants used two pitchers, Ethan Claus and Brandon Baumgartner who pitched six innings giving up seven earned runs on 11 hits while striking out four and walking six hitters.
The Hounds win sees them deny the Merchants a AAA state title three-peat.
"It's tough obviously but at the end of the day we're here to have fun, play some baseball, winning's great but everyone's healthy for the most part and happy," Erstad said.