Landon Meier of Fargo, ND Post 2 celebrates with his team after winning game 6 of The 2024 American Legion World Series at Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C., on Friday, August 16. Photo by Chet Strange/The American Legion

ALWS Game 6: North Dakota outlasts Alabama in 14-inning marathon

Fargo (N.D.) Post 2 stayed alive in the American Legion World Series on Friday, but it had to survive a Troy (Ala.) Post 70 rally and a lengthy weather delay before taking a dramatic 5-4, 14-inning victory that evened both team’s records at 1-1 in the Stars Division of pool play.

Post 2 appeared headed for a 2-1 victory when starter Charlie Kalbrener retired the first two batters of the seventh inning. But Kalbrener appeared to tire as he closed in on the 105-pitch limit and Troy drew a walk, got back-to-back hits to tie the score at 2 and left the bases loaded before a lightning and rain delay at Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C.

The delay came as teams were warming up for the bottom of the seventh and lasted from 9:08 p.m. to 11 p.m.

When the contest resumed, the teams traded two-out runs in the 10th and 13th innings before three straight one-out hits and a throwing error plated the game-winner when Jaxon Beiswenger scored at 1:17 a.m.

The game length matches the longest in ALWS history and was the first 14-inning game played since American Legion Baseball went from nine-inning games to seven-inning games in 2018.

Including the delay, the contest lasted six hours and 14 minutes. And the official time of four hours and 19 minutes made the game the second-longest in ALWS history, trailing only a 14-inning game between San Diego (Calif.) and Spartanburg (S.C.) played at Duncan Park in Spartanburg in 1938.

Fargo, which concludes its pool play against Hudson (Mass.) at noon on Saturday, took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before Troy forced extra innings with its dramatic seventh-inning rally.

Sam Ovsak (3 hits), Adam Leininger (2 hits, 1 RBI), Wyatt Kosidowski (2 hits), Landon Meier (2 hits, 1 RBI) and Beiswenger (2 hits, 2 RBIs) led Post 2's 13-hit offense.

Troy (31-6) is off on Saturday before completing its pool play with a 7 p.m. Sunday night game against defending ALWS champion League City (Tex.), which is now the lone unbeaten team in the Stars Division.