LANGDON, N.D. - Manufacturing runs is nice. But Dylan Crockett was glad to see some clutch hits Thursday.
Crockett’s Langdon team extended its season with a 10-2 win against Burlington in the loser-out round of the North Dakota Class B American Legion baseball tournament.
The first six Langdon runs came without run-scoring hits. It wasn’t until a four-run sixth inning, when Eric Aanderud lined a two-run double into the right-field corner and Robb Kuchar had a two-run single, that the Red Sox had hits that delivered runs in their two state tournament games.
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“We want to get people on base,” Crockett said. “If we do that, we usually find a way to get them in. But it did feel good to get some hits to get runs in. That’s how you get some momentum.”
Instead of big hits, the Red Sox were efficient.
They took advantage of an error to score a run in the second, then scored four in the third.
Kalton Agnes led off with a walk, followed by a Jon Skjervheim single. Kade Pengilly loaded the bases when he battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk.
Aanderud, down 1-2 in the count, drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in the inning’s first run. Skjerheim scored on an error, Pengilly a wild pitch and Cameron Phillips had a sacrifice fly to finish off the inning. Kuchar drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth to drive home another run.
“That’s been sort of typical for us,” Crockett said of scratching for runs.
“It’s the state tournament. You take runs any way you can get them. We’ve been good at working pitchers and running up counts. We get a lot of walks.”
Kade Pengilly went the distance for the mound win. The right-hander allowed only four hits, striking out nine while walking four.
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“Kade threw an amazing game,” Crockett said. “A lot of times, he loses his control by around the fourth inning. But he found the strike zone through all seven innings.”
