SURREY - Austan Schmidt laced a liner down the right-field line and took off down the first-base line. As Surrey right fielder Marshall Hogue fielded the ball, the 6-foot, 215-pound Schmidt toed second base and kept on running.
Schmidt's pursuit of a triple failed miserably; Surrey's relay beat him to third base by about five feet, reducing his efforts to a two-run double and an out.
It was one of few mistakes for Schmidt, who dominated on the mound and in the batter's box in a 12-0 Harvey win in an American Legion Class B game. Nonetheless, he couldn't escape the jokes cracked by his teammates on the way back to the dugout.
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Adam Lawson/MDN
Harvey pitcher Austan Schmidt delivers a pitch during Harvey’s 12-0 win Monday in Surrey.
"We knew it was quite a far run for him and he's probably not used to that long run," said Riley Hovland, who went 3-for-4 and scored four runs from the leadoff spot. "We just said we weren't sure if those pants were meant to run that far."
Said Schmidt: "I guess I'm not quite the fastest guy on the team."
The 17-year-old southpaw struck out five of the first six Blue Sox hitters en route to a nine-strikeout performance. He surrendered just three hits, walked none and only allowed two Surrey runners to reach scoring position.
"Austan threw strikes like we need to," Harvey coach Olsen Zerr said. "That's the main thing. Once he gets ahead on strikes, he's a great pitcher. That's what we need to do."
Harvey (7-6) jumped ahead 5-0 after the second innings thanks to poor Blue Sox defense. Surrey (8-10) committed four of its six errors in the first two frames.
In the fourth, two more Blue Sox miscues aided another four-run Harvey inning.
"The last three games we've averaged five or six errors a game," Surrey coach Jeremy Feller said. "It's hard to win games when you do that.
"Today we brought nothing. No bats, no fielding."
Dylan Enget was the only hitter who found much success against Schmidt. Enget tripled and singled and reached third base twice.
Harvey catcher Mark Nyhus reached base three times and scored three runs.
Surrey rallied to take the second game, 11-10. They travel to Bottineau for a doubleheader today.