The Crowder Dirtbags rallied in extra innings and moved over the .500 mark on the season Sunday night with a 12-7 win over the Rogers American Legion team.
Crowder and Rogers were tied 6-6 after seven innings of play, but Crowder broke through with four runs in the 12th inning to win it.
The victory went to Dakota Laufenberg, from Texas Southern, who tossed five innings of relief. Jeff White (Coffeyville CC) threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, while starter Kyle Coatney (Missouri Southern) tossed the first 4 1/3 innings.
At the plate, Blake Hageman (Coffeyville CC), Carter Marion (Crowder), Kevin Burgi (Garden City CC) and White all had two hits.
“We are hitting the ball a lot better now,” Crowder coach Cary Marion said.
Crowder (5-4) tallied runs in the third, fourth, fifth and 12th innings in the win.
In the third inning, Carter Marion had an RBI ground out, making it 1-0. In the fourth inning, Crowder took a 2-0 lead on Burgi’s RBI single.
The Dirtbags went up 6-1 in the top of the fifth inning by scoring four runs. Hageman had an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Former Neosho High standout Gabe Wyatt then hit a bases-clearing triple.
Rogers got three runs in the fifth inning and then single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at 6-6. In the 12th inning, Crowder tallied four runs, but the big blow was a two-run double by Carter Marion. Passed balls accounted for the other two runs.
The Dirtbags return home tonight to play a doubleheader against the Ozark Generals, starting at 6 p.m. at Crowder’s field.
