LANGDON — Before Monday’s game, Theo Romfo had only allowed one earned run in 16 1/3 innings this season. He’d struck out 31.
After Monday’s game, he still only has one earned run on his ledger. But he has seven more unearned runs to his name, as a disaster sixth inning sunk Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich against Park River Area at American Legion Field. A six-run frame, kickstarted by one of four Cardinals errors, ruined LA/E/M’s perfect 4-0 record. They fell 8-2, despite Romfo throwing the ball well and holding a 2-1 lead through the first five innings.
“It really should have been 2-1 going to the seventh,” head coach Josh Krivarchka said. “But we made a mistake on the bunt, and they capitalized. We just couldn’t get out of the inning. It was kind of like rolling downhill. Credit to [the Aggies]. They had a good approach at the plate.”
Cole Welsh led off the Cardinals’ half of the first by hitting a single. But with a 3-0 count on Mason Romfo, he was picked off. Krivarchka expressed his displeasure, shouting “Are you kidding me? That’s terrible!” as Welsh made his way into the dugout.
The Cardinals scored two runs anyway. M. Romfo completed the walk, and Theo doubled to the left field wall. Both runners scored on wild pitches.
Park River Area got one back in the second, as T. Romfo found himself in some trouble. An error by shortstop Sam Davis got things started, and a double and a single drove in a run. It was a 2-1 game with the Aggies still in business.
But Romfo stayed composed. He recorded a strikeout and a flyout to strand the bases loaded and keep LA/E/M ahead.
“He bears down and competes really hard as the inning goes on,” Krivarchka said.
Romfo ended each of the next three innings with a strikeout. He found himself in another jam in the fourth, as Jameson Erovick hit a leadoff double and stole third. Romfo notched a key strikeout for the second out.
Through five innings, Romfo was rolling. But the offense slowed down after a productive first. Romfo hit two doubles of his own, but the Cardinals only collected two other hits on the day.
Davis made an error to lead off the sixth, and the wheels fell off quickly. A single and an error by catcher Jax Johnson loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly tied it, and the Aggies scored two more on another error by Davis. The last error was a tough ruling, as the ball took a bad hop off the dirt.
Then a three-run blast broke it open. Suddenly, it was 7-2 Aggies.
“[Romfo]’s our ace, and we expect him to do big things for us,” Krivarchka said. “But we’ve gotta make plays behind him, too.”
Theo comes from a long line of Romfos in the town of Langdon. Along with Mason, who batted a spot ahead of him in the order on Monday, Jack Romfo graduated from Langdon Area High School last year. They also have a pair of twin cousins, Simon and Grant Romfo, who both play football for the University of North Dakota.
And with Theo’s performance on Monday, he’s lining up to become the next great Romfo. He pitched six innings with no earned runs allowed and eight strikeouts, giving him a 0.40 ERA and 15.7 K/9 on the season.
“He had pretty good stuff today,” Krivarchka said. “He was in control of his offspeed stuff. We just made one too many mistakes behind him, and it caught up to us in the end.”
The Cardinals stranded Romfo on second in the bottom of the sixth. With Johnson pitching the seventh, the Aggies scratched out an insurance run on a single, a passed ball and back-to-back sacrifice bunts. Johnson drew a walk in the final frame, but that was all the Cardinals could muster up as the final two batters of the game struck out.
“We’re young in some areas, and you can see that, obviously,” Krivarchka said. “But it’s a long season. We’ve just gotta keep getting better and take it one game at a time.”
