Barnesville banged out 11 hits and played error free in the field. Morse struck out just 2 and walked 3 batters, but solid defense, including a diving catch by left fielder Kellen Hinsz held the Pirates scoreless.
Sam Askegaard’s (2-3 1 R, 3 RBI) two out, two run double in the third was the big hit that keyed an offensive rally by Barnesville. Matt Samuelson (3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI), Caleb Ott (2-3, 2 R) and Morse (2-3, 1 RBI) also had multiple hits and Barnesville drew 8 walks from 4 different Pillager pitchers to add to the damage.
Barnesville will face third seed Breckenridge at 6:00pm Friday in the quarterfinal round.
Other first round game results:
Twin Valley/Ulen-Hitterdal 9 Brandon-Evansville/West Central Area 3
Parkers Prairie 7 Frazee 1
Hawley 6 Pelican Rapids 2
Friday’s games
Ada (1) vs TV/UH
Parkers (5) vs Ashby (4)
Hawley (7) vs DGF (2)
Barnesville (6) vs Breckenridge (3)