Reds Third at District Tourney

The Glasgow Reds went 3-2 at the 2022 East A District Tournament this past weekend in Billings, finishing in third place just out of a trip to the State Tournament. Glasgow finished their season with a 15-24 record.

Glasgow faced the host Billings Blue Jays on Thursday, losing 12-2 in five innings. The Reds rebounded on Friday with a 15-4 victory over the Richland County Patriots in five and one-half innings. The win pitted the Reds against the Glendive Blue Devils Saturday in a do-or-die game. The game went the full seven innings with Glasgow coming out on top by a 3-1 margin.

Saturday evening saw the Reds hit the field once more against the Blue Jays. Glasgow held on to win 14-13 even after Billings worked their way back from a nine-run deficit. Glasgow’s last run of the season pitted them against the number-one seeded Laurel Dodgers with both teams battling for a trip to the state tournament. The perennially talented Dodgers ended the Reds’ hopes with an 11-1 win in six innings.

In their first game against the Blue Jays, Glasgow scored once in each of the first and second innings while Billings scored four times in the first and second followed by three runs in the third. They ended the game early with a final run in the fifth.

Gage Siefert took the loss on the mound for the Reds. In one-third of an inning, he allowed one run on one hit while throwing a 45.5 strike percentage. Rance Rhoads started the game, lasting two innings. He threw five strikeouts on a 54.4 strike percentage while allowing 11 runs on 10 hits. Aiden Price relieved him for two innings, giving up no runs or hits while registering a 59.3 strike percentage.

Glasgow was outhit 11-2 in the game led by Juliun Benson and Jack Kolstad with a hit each. Benson had the team’s sole RBI. Tatum Hansen, Mason Hunter and Toryn Richards each had a stolen base.

The Reds took a 4-0 lead after one against the Patriots on Friday and followed it with two in the third and nine in the fourth. They gave up one run in the third, two in the fourth and another in the fifth as they went on to win in four and one-half innings.

Rhoads went 4-for-4 at bat while driving five runners home as Glasgow outhit Richland County 9-5. Hansen and Richards both added two hits and Juliun Benson had one. Hansen, Juliun Benson, Richards and Kolstad also had an RBI in the game. Richards notched two stolen bases with Jeramiah Benson, Hansen, Kolstad, Rhoads, Siefert and JT Sprague getting one a piece.

Hunter spent the duration of the game on the mound, earning the win for the Reds. He threw six strikeouts with a 70.0 strike percentage. He gave up four runs on five hits.

Sprague earned the next victory for Glasgow, giving up five hits to Glendive in a tight game. Glasgow scored twice in the fourth and once in the sixth with the Blue Devils sending only one runner home in the sixth. Sprague threw four strikeouts with a 63.9 strike percentage.

He also led the Reds at bat with three of Glasgow’s five hits in three at-bats. Jeramiah Benson and Juliun Benson had one hit each as well as an RBI a piece. Jeramiah Benson, Juliun Benson, Hansen and Sprague all had a stolen base.

Glasgow faced the Blue Jays that evening in a rematch they were determined to win. Their eight-run performance in the first inning set the pace of the game. The Reds added one in the second, two in the third and three in the fifth. The Blue Jays battled back with three in the second, six in the third and four in the seventh but a fly out to Hunter in right field ended the game with the score still in Glasgow’s favor.

The Reds outhit the Blue Jays 17-14 led by Juliun Benson’s 3-for-5 and five RBI performance. Hunter also went 3-for-5 with one RBI. Sprague and Hansen both went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jeramiah Benson, Rhoads, Richards, Kolstad and Jordan Plummer added a hit each. Rhoads and Kolstad also had one RBI a piece. Jeramiah Benson and Hansen had two stolen bases and Richards had one.

Juliun Benson earned the win on the mound, pitching three strikeouts with a 60.4 strike percentage over four and one-third innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits. Richards started the game, giving up nine runs on seven hits. He threw two strikeouts and a 48.8 strike percentage.

The win pitted Glasgow against Laurel Sunday morning with a trip to state on the line. Laurel came out on top after outhitting Glasgow 15-5 for an 11-1 victory after six innings.

The Reds’ lone run came in the first when Rhoads drove Sprague home with a pop fly to center field. Rhoads went 1-for-3 at the plate while Juliun Benson led the team with a 2-for-2 performance. Hansen and Price had the team’s other hits. Sprague had the only stolen base.

Plummer took the loss, pitching three and two-thirds innings after relieving Price. Plummer gave up six runs on nine hits while throwing a 66.2 strike percentage and two strikeouts. Price allowed five runs on six hits while throwing one strikeout on a 58.7 strike percentage.