JAMESTOWN, N.D. — Simon Romfo knows how to amp himself up for big games.
The Langdon-Edmore-Munich senior, however, maybe jazzed himself up a little too much prior to Friday's state Class B baseball semifinal at Jack Brown Stadium.
After allowing Thompson to score a run in each of the first two innings, Romfo put zeros up on the scoreboard the rest of the way in a 6-2 victory over the Tommies. Romfo went the distance, recording the final out in the seventh with his 122nd pitch of the night.
The Cardinals (23-0) will play LaMoure-Litchville-Marion (18-2) in Saturday's state title game at 6:30 p.m.
"I was just struggling to find it the first two innings," said Romfo, who will be playing football at the University of North Dakota in the fall. "Once I got locked in and started throwing strikes, I knew we'd be fine."
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Romfo didn't allow an extra-base hit and fanned seven Tommies, but walked seven, and both runs allowed were earned. He was facing his final batter of the game — Thompson's Thomas Schumacher — with two outs in the seventh, beginning the at-bat with 118 pitches.
A pitcher can't face another batter after exceeding 120 tosses to home plate.
"Early on we kinda wasted a lot of pitches," said Langdon-EM coach Josh Krivarchka. "We just weren't throwing strikes early, which is pretty atypical of him. I think his juices were flowing a little too hot right away.
"I didn't know if he was going to get seven (innings) early on, but he battled and put in a good performance for us."
Thompson only scored one run in the first inning after loading the bases with one out, before the Cardinals did all the damage they'd need in the bottom half. Langdon-EM scored four runs in the first on a pair of hits, two walks, two hit batters, and a sac fly.
"We always talk about putting crooked numbers up and we have a lot of speed on the bases," Krivarchka said. "We feel like one through nine, everybody can put the ball in play and handle the bat. The kids got us going there in that first inning and it kinda relaxed us I thought a little bit."
And just as the rally was getting started, Thompson starter Kyle Odenbach was shaken up when colliding with catcher Zach Paterson on a squeeze-bunt attempt by the Cardinals that eventually landed foul. Odenbach — Thompson's left-handed throwing ace — appeared to have injured his right shoulder and didn't look comfortable on the mound from that point forward.
Odenbach only made it through the third inning, leaving after tossing 73 pitches and allowing five earned runs on five hits and two walks.
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"It was bothering him and it was affecting how he rotated and the way he gets velocity," Thompson coach Nate Soulis said. "You don't want to take a kid out, but the health and safety of him is much more important than what we're doing."
The Cardinals' Jack Romfo and Grant Romfo both clubbed doubles in the game, with Simon Romfo, Jack Romfo, and Brady Regner all driving in a pair of runs. Both teams stranded six runners.
Thompson will play Renville County tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the third-place game.
Krivarchka and the Cardinals will be preparing for a Loboes team that's witnessed plenty of recent success.
"Obviously, they've won the last state Babe Ruth and state Legion titles, so they've got some talented baseball players," Krivarchka said. "It's gonna be a challenge tomorrow but we're excited to play against them."
"They're a good team," Simon Romfo added. "We've gotta come focused and we gotta come ready to play. It'll be a fun game."
(1) Langdon-Edmore-Munich 6, (4) Thompson 2
THO 110 000 0 — 2 4 1
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LEM 401 100 X — 6 6 1
Batteries: T, Kyle Odenbach, Connor Welsh (4) and Zach Peterson. L, Simon Romfo and Carfter Tetrault. W-Romfo. L-Odenbach.
Highlights: T, Odenbach 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 SO, 2 BB; Welsh 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 SO, 2 BB, 73 NP; Thomas Schumacher 1-3, R, BB; Tyler Cunningham 1-2, BB; Ryan Strande 1-3, R; Peterson 1-2, BB.
L, Romfo 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 7 SO, 4 BB, 0 HR, 122 NP; Grant Romfo 1-4, 2B, 2 R; Jack Romfo 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI; S. Romfo 1-3, 2 RBI, 1 R; Brady Regner 1-1, 2 RBI, BB, SF.
