West Fargo Sheyenne defeated Minot in the North Dakota Class A high school baseball championship game to claim its fourth state title in five years. However, a controversial ruling during the second inning had a direct impact on the final score.
A violent collision at the plate led the game-tying run to be removed from the board.
Minot High School and Sheyenne High School are separated by more than 250 miles. They met somewhere in the middle at Kraft Field in Grand Forks for the high school baseball state title game on Saturday afternoon. It was a battle of David vs. Goliath, in a sense.
Although Sheyenne won three-straight Class A championships from 2021-2023, it did not have a single All-State player on its roster in 2025 and entered the state tournament bracket as the No. 7 seed. Minot was the No. 1 seed with three All-State players on the team.
The Mustangs jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Magicians and later extended that lead to five. Minot battled back with a four-run fifth inning to make the score 5-4. Sheyenne added another in the sixth, 6-4.
This is where things get interesting. High school baseball games last only seven innings. Minot scored a run with two outs in the top of the seventh and moved a runner to third. One base hit would’ve tied the score but a strikeout ended the game. Sheyenne won the state championship 6-5.
Here lies the controversy. The Magicians actually scored their sixth run in the top of the second inning. The run, which ultimately proved to be the tying run, was pulled off of the board because the umpires ruled “malicious contact” on a play at the plate. Minot’s player was ejected for trucking the catcher.
— – (@Spicoli_____) June 2, 2025
According to National Federation of State High School Associations Rule 8-4-2 (b), “a runner is out when they maliciously or forcibly crash into a fielder who is clearly in possession of the ball and waiting to apply the tag.” If the runner “lowers his/her shoulder, leads with a forearm, or makes no attempt to avoid or slide, and delivers a forceful hit, this is malicious contact.” Malicious contact results in the runner being called out and ejected from the game. A catcher may not block the plate without possession of the ball. If the catcher is waiting with the ball and the runner crashes into the catcher, that is an out.
The Mustangs catcher did not have possession of the ball when the contact occurred. That could be ruled as obstruction. However, NFHSA Rule 3-3-1 (n) defines malicious contact. Malicious contact supersedes obstruction “if the collision was avoidable (e.g., the runner didn’t slide, lowered the shoulder, or aimed to dislodge the ball).” The runner “can be ejected even though obstruction occurred.”
Minot believes it was robbed of a run because of clear obstruction by the catcher. Sheyenne stands by the call because the runner did not attempt to avoid contact and ran through the catcher.
Right or wrong, malicious contact was the call made on the field and it can’t be overturned retroactively. The Magicians had their sixth run of the game revoked. The Mustangs won 6-5!