Valley City, North Dakota- “It was great to be back in Valley (City). I was able to go to my old gym, get a good lift in and stop by Hardeez on the way to the ballpark. I felt very comfortable on the mound and at the plate today, it was like home,” stated former Valley City State standout baseball player and winning pitcher Scott Stephenson.

Stephenson did it all for the Merchants on Sunday at Charlie Brown Stadium against the Jamestown Elks.

Scott fired eight solid innings on the mound in his first start of the summer. The Elks managed only three runs on nine hits, while Scott struck out five batters. Stephenson also did damage at the plate by going 3 for 5, he scored three of the Merchants ten runs.

“My fastball had to be hitting 90 today along with my hammer of a curveball.  I don’t think the Yankees would have beaten me,” said Scott as he did some post game pushups in the parking lot.

The Merchants knocked the Elks pitching around all day. Lewis Weldon led the M’s at the plate by going 5 for 5 with a double and three RBI’s.

Dan Ross started the scoring off for the Merchants with a solo homer in the second inning. Bryan Erstad hit a two-run homer for the Merchants in the fifth to break open a 3-3 tie. The Merchants would tack on four more in the sixth to blow the game open and cruise to 10-3 victory.

Joe Vannett, Brian Dafforn and Dan Ross each had multi-hit games for the M’s as a part of the 17 hit attack on Sunday.

The Merchants improved to 14-8 on the year. The M’s will host Mayville in their regular season finale on Wednesday at Helling Field in Fargo. The first ten fans in attendance will receive a Jeff Nold postcard courtesy of Hardeez. First pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM.