Imperial seniors compete in C7 District Tourney

By Alan Carman
The Imperial Republican
    The C7 District Senior Baseball Tournament started Friday, July 24, in Gordon at Modisett Field.
    In the first round of action, #4 Seed PWG beat #5 Seed Bridgeport in the first game. #2 Seed Imperial fell to #3 Seed Valentine by a score of 7-15.
    Imperial’s offense had a tough time getting started. Valentine scored three in the first, one in the second and two in the top of the third, before Imperial finally got on the board with a single run in the bottom of the third to trail 1-6.
    The Horns held Valentine scoreless in the top of the fourth and busted the game open with six runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-6 lead.
    Valentine bounced back, scoring five in the fifth and four in the sixth, while holding the Horns scoreless in both inning, giving Valentine the win.
    That dropped the Horns into the elimination bracket to face Bridgeport Saturday afternoon. Games were pushed back due to rain, but were still played Saturday night.
    It only took four and a half innings for the Longhorns to get their first win in the tournament. Solid pitching and good defense held the Bridgeport team to no runs in the game, while Imperial’s offense scored six in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth, to win by the 10 run rule in the fifth, 10-0.
    In the second game of the night, #1 seed Sheridan County fell to PWG, sending them to an elimination game on Sunday against the Longhorns.
    Sunday night, Imperial faced #1 Seed Sheridan County, (Gordon/Rushville/Hay Springs), Regulators in another elimination game.
    After both teams failed to score in the first, the Horns set the Regulators down without a run in the second. The Horns got the offense started, scoring five in the bottom of the second, to lead 5-0.
    The Regulators scored two in the third while holding the Horns scoreless to cut the margin to three. In the fourth, Imperial went back up by five after scoring two in the bottom half and holding Sheridan County scoreless in the top.
    The Regulators scored three in the fifth, while holding the Horns to just one. In the sixth, Sheridan County scored two and left the bases loaded. The Horns scored one in the bottom of the sixth to lead, 8-7 going into the final inning.
    In the top of the seventh, Sheridan County scored a run to tie the game at eight. In the bottom of the seventh, the Horns had runners on first and second with one out. Cohen Lambert got a base hit over the left fielder’s head that scored Conner Stromberger from second base to win the game, 9-8.
    That advanced the Horns to another elimination game Monday night in a rematch with Valentine. The winner of this game will play in the finals on Tuesday, while the loser’s season will come to an end.
    The Horns got the bats hot early, taking a five run lead in the second, after holding Valentine scoreless. The Horns went on to build a ten run lead going into the fifth, 11-1.
    Valentine made a final push in the top of the fifth, scoring three runs to keep the game alive. In the bottom of the fifth, with runners on first and second and one out, Conner Stromberger hit a ball over the left fielder, plating two runs and giving Imperial the walk-off win.
    On Tuesday night, the Longhorns will have to beat PWG twice for a trip to the State Tournament. The  Horns season came to an end Tuesday, falling to PWG 7-13 in the first game.