HAZEN, N.D. — Just six days ago, the Heart River Cougars got their shot at the top team in the region in Shiloh Christian,
defeating the Skyhawks 17-7 in Belfield behind 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts
.
But with the prevailing winds down and the stakes heightened, the Cougars’ bats went cold in a 2-0 loss to the Skyhawks in the second round of the Region 8 boys baseball tournament in Hazen.
“I’m proud of them,” Head Coach Kurt Silbernagel said. “They had to throw their best two pitchers against us, and they still only beat us 2-0. We just didn’t swing the bats, we went up there timidly – the guy threw a little harder then maybe we were used to”
The Cougars had a long day at the field, defeating Hazen 4-0 before falling to Shiloh Christian 2-0.
Carter Dooner / The Dickinson Press
The Cougars stalled out at the plate, amassing just one hit on the day while striking out 14 times as a team.
But it’s not to say they didn’t have their chances at the plate. In the top of the second, the Skyhawks walked the bases loaded with two outs, but a flyout ended one of the Cougars’ best threats.
The same situation presented itself again in the top of the fifth. Now down 1-0, the bases were loaded once more due to three walks, this time with the heart of the Cougar lineup at the plate. Shiloh worked its way out of trouble again, striking out a Cougar batter to end the final true threat Heart River put together.
“We battled today,” Silbernagel said. “ They’ve got some really good players, they’re a good team and they’ve got good pitching, it just didn’t go our way.”
For the Cougars,
they too got solid work throughout the rotation.
After ace Connor Honeyman threw a complete game in Game 1, the Cougars turned to Peyton Erickson.
Peyton Erickson got the start on the hill, going four innings and allowing one earned run.
Carter Dooner / The Dickinson Press
The junior handled the spotlight in a big way, going four innings and allowing just one earned run while striking out six. Thanks to a leadoff triple in the fourth, the Skyhawks plated the game-winning run two batters later.
The loss sets up a matchup against Hettinger-Scranton/New England on Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.
“We just got to come back and play,” Silbernagel said. “It’s a letdown absolutely, but it’s the next day, and everyone’s in the tournament, we just got to show up and swing the bats the way we have been and it will take care of the rest.”
Heart River 4, Hazen 0
If there’s one area of the game where head coach Kurt Silbernagel could point to as a reason for the Cougars’ late-season turnaround, the emergence of junior Connor Honeyman likely ranks near the top of the list.
Given the ball in Game 1 of the Region VIII tournament, Honeyman turned in a three-hit complete-game shutout to help the Cougars advance to the next round against Shiloh Christian. Honeyman walked just two batters while striking out six as the Cougars avenged an early-season loss to the Bison on their home field.
At the plate, the Cougars may have scored only four runs, but they racked up 13 hits as a team. Jake McCann led the way offensively, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Eli Bock was the other Cougar hitter to turn in a three-hit performance.
Washburn/Wilton/Center-Stanton 5, Hettinger-Scranton/New England 3
The Nighthawks have had a knack for playing tightly contested games this spring, but just haven’t been able to come out on the right side of many of them. That sentiment held true on Tuesday, as the Nighthawks battled through all seven innings but ultimately fell 5-3 to Washburn/Wilton/Center-Stanton on Tuesday, May 19.
For a brief moment, it looked like the next round was imminent. The Nighthawks scored two runs in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. Liam Kennedy tripled on a line drive to center field to break the 1-1 deadlock. Later in the inning, Jordan Jung was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in another run.
But Washburn responded in the top of the sixth, scoring three runs on three singles and an error to take a 4-3 lead they would not give back. They added another insurance run in the seventh to secure the 5-3 victory.
The Nighthawks will matchup with Heart River on Wednesday at 1:15 p.m.
Carter is a sports reporter for the Dickinson Press. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2025 with a journalism degree.