Theo Romfo watches as Mason Romfo bats.
The Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich baseball team looked a bit stunned when it lost to Park River Area on April 22.
Granted, the Aggies have been playing some good baseball in their own right. They’re 8-3 overall, and their 3-1 region record puts them in first place in Region IV. But with ace pitcher Theo Remfo cruising through the first five innings, and the Cardinals undefeated up until that point, that’s not a game they expected to lose.
But since that crushing 8-2 defeat— a game in which LA/E/M didn’t actually allow any earned runs — the Cardinals have gone 3-0. Not only that, but they’ve won all three games in dominant fashion: 12-3, 11-0 and 10-0. They’re now 7-1 overall and 2-1 in region play.
It’s a particularly good sign for the offense, which couldn’t muster up a response in that lone defeat. Theo and Mason Romfo combined to go a ridiculous 13-for-19 over the three wins, and the team collected double-digit hit totals in all three games.
LA/E/M’s leadoff hitter, Cole Welsh, went 4-for-10 over the stretch. Then in the middle of the order, there’s Dawson and Kadyn Hein, who combined to go 8-for-19.
The Cardinals have proved they have more pitching than just Romfo, too. The most notable performance came from Tyson Gemmill, who struck out nine and only allowed two hits in a 10-0 defeat of Midway/Minto. Gemmill was also impressive against a New Rockford-Sheyenne team that has a winning record, a game in which LA/E/M won 11-0. He threw 59 pitches in that game, striking out six and walking one in four innings of two-hit ball.
Jax Johnson turned in a strong outing as well in the “closest” of the three games, which the Cardinals still won 12-3 over Carrington. He allowed a three-spot in the third inning, which briefly put LA/E/M behind 3-2. But he persevered to throw six innings. He struck out seven while limiting Carrington to five hits, three walks and just those three runs. His offense did more than enough to support him, putting up two runs in the fourth and then back-to-back four-run frames in the sixth and seventh.
The Cardinals still have plenty of tough competition ahead of them. In the coming weeks, they’ll be facing teams like Grafton, Central Cass and undefeated Thompson. But with an offense that’s really starting to gel, and a pitching staff that’s showcasing its depth, they’re in good shape to compete against these teams.
