Valley City’s Wayne Engelhard avoids Enderlin’s Kayl Hamre as Engelhard turns a double play Sunday in the Leevers’ Classic championship. Enderlin won the title with a 7-2 win over Valley City. (Mark Potts/VCTR)

By Mark Potts
Valley City Times-Record

VALLEY CITY – Derek Zitzow and Zach Michaelson play together on the Valley City State University baseball team. But on Sunday, they squared off as opponents, both taking the mound for their respective teams in the 2009 Leevers’ Classic title game.
Chalk up the locker room bragging rights to Michaelson.
The 6-foot-3 righty threw a complete game, and his Enderlin Legion team defeated Valley City Post 60, 7-2 on Sunday as Enderlin captured the 2009 Leevers’ Classic championship.
“He keeps getting better and better,” Enderlin coach Kevin Bratland said of Michaelson, who struggled with his control earlier this season. “He’s getting his curveball over for strikes and working off his fastball.”
The win moves Enderlin to 21-1 on the season, while Valley City’s 3-1 record at the tournament moves them above .500 at 9-8.
“We played really great throughout the whole tournament,” said Valley City coach Sam Bjorling. “It wasn’t our best game today, but I thought we still played OK. Enderlin’s just a very, very good team.
“Zach Michaelson for them did an outstanding job,” added Bjorling, who as assistant coach for VCSU knows Michaelson well. “It was a pitcher’s dual. Zitzow pitched very well. I thought he pitched every bit as well as Michaelson did, he just had a tougher lineup to face.”
Both pitchers turned in solid performances, but Michaelson was just a bit better. Zitzow was hampered by five unearned runs, including four in the fourth inning that broke open a scoreless game.
After setting down his eighth and ninth batters in a row to open the inning, Zitzow issued a two-out walk to Darrin Kasowski. Michaelson followed with a single up the middle, and Taran Langland loaded the bases on a hard groundball to short that Wayne Engelhard was unable to field cleanly.

With the bases loaded, Evan Pilgrim hit a weak groundball to third. Kraig Klingenberg fielded it cleanly, but needing to rush his throw, sailed it over Trent Egan’s head at first base, allowing Kasowski and Bartholomay to score. Dylan Lerud followed with a two-run single to break the game open.
Enderlin added another unearned run in the fifth inning when Michaelson’s two-out single scored Karl Bartholomay, who had reached on an error.
“We made a few mistakes, and didn’t make all the plays, and they capitalized on it,” said Bjorling. “Their first five runs all came with two outs.”
One day after rallying from an eight-run deficit against Groton, S.D., Enderlin’s offense continued to click, collecting nine hits – including some big two-out base knocks – and tagging Zitzow with his first loss of the season.
“We just continue to hit the ball,” Bratland said. “It’s unbelievable, top to bottom, the guys that are coming through at different times. It’s not just one or two guys, it can be any one of those nine guys.”

For full story see Monday's edition of the Valley City Times-Record.