TWO TOO TOUGH: Doenges Ford Boys win 2 on baseball tourney opening day
Déjà vu had a short turnaround Thursday for the Bartlesville Doenges Ford Indians.
In the first round of the Branson (Mo.) American Legion baseball tournament, the Indians mulched Mountain Home (Ark.) Lockeroom.
The Doenges Boys liked that score so much, they duplicated a few hours later against the J.C. Blazers, 9-4.
Bartlesville — which is on a four-game unbeaten streak — improved to 8-4-1 on the season and 4-2 on the road.
The high-powered tourney — with a five-game guarantee — continues throughout the weekend.
John Pannell is in his 10th season overall — and third straight since he returned in 2020 to lead the team — as the Indians’ skipper.
His direct association as either a player or coach in the American Legion program extends back more than 30 years.
Bartlesville is hosting American Legion-affiliated baseball for the 87th-straight summer; Doenges Ford has been the title sponsor since 1940 or 1941 of the Indians.
Form its ranks have emerged several Division I college greats or pro players, including Tim Pugh, who pitched several years for the Cincinnati Reds or other teams in the ‘bigs.’
Other former Indian greats advanced to AAA ball to reach the threshold of the majors.
The most recent was James Teague, who played several years in the Baltimore Orioles organization, before he stepped away to get married and further his education in law.
Following are summaries of Thursday’s games.
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Indians 9, Lockeroom 4
Mountain Home — which has been a many-time participant in Bartlesville’s Glen Winget July Fourth Memorial Tournament — clawed to a 3-1 lead through four innings.
But, Indians muscled back with five runs in the top of the fifth and never looked back.
Harrison Clark continued his extra-base hit tear, mashing two doubles.
The former Bartlesville High ball-walloping bruiser has recorded seven multi-bag hits in the last seven games.
Daniel Barham belted a double, two singles and plated two runs, while Jace Thompson doubled and pushed three runners across home plate.
Karson Lee and Kaeden Young also each lashed a two-bagger.
Clark and Lee both plated one run.
Brenden Asher walked twice and scored once; Luke Fox stole one base.
The Indian batting lineup struck out only two times.
On the pitching front, Alan Covarrubias snapped off the complete-game seven-hit win on a 97-pitch gem.
Mountain Home scratched only one earned run off Covarrubias, who walked two batters and fanned eight.
He fashioned a jaw-dropping stat by throwing 77 strikes and only 20 balls. Twenty six of the 31 batters he faced started out with a count of 0-and-1.
Maben Watkin doubled for Mountain Home and Phil Pasthing pounded two singles.
During the game-changing fifth inning, Kaeden Young scored on a pickoff error to tie the game, 3-3.
Moments later, Clark doubled home Fox to push the Indians into the lead, 4-3.
Barham followed by a ringing two-bagger to score Clark. Barham crossed the plate later in the inning, as a result of Lee’s double, to increase the lead, 6-3.
That was more than enough for Covarrubias and defense to drive the team the rest of the way to victory.
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Indians 9, J.C. Blazers 4
Before they could barely get their heads in the game, the Blazer players faced an 4-0 deficit.
Indian pitchers Matthew Winters and Clark sat on the Blazers offense like the Sistine Chapel to prevent any significant resurrection.
The Indians would lead by eight runs, 9-1, before the Blazers attempted to do a Lazarus in the sixth inning, but ran out of heartbeat after scoring three runs.
Once again the Indian offense rose to the occasion, led by Young with a triple and a single, Fox with a double and a single, and Lee with a double. Each of the three drove home one run.
John Reed added two singles.
Clark recorded a single and three RBIs’ Brenden Asher nailed a base hit and plated two runs.
Josh Weber reached base on an error.
Fox and Young contributed three and two stolen bases, respectively.
While the Indians’ batting lineup produced like a package of popcorn on steroids, the Indian hurlers ruled on the mound.
Winters worked five innings of four-hit ball, walked four and struck out seven. The Blazers scored only one run off him.
Clark finished up the last two innings.
Schamburg ripped two hits for the Blazers.
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— Brenden Asher is on 6-game hitting streak.
— Harrison Clark tallied 7 RBIs first 8 games and 8 RBIs last 3 games.
— Luke Fox has struck out just once in 36 at-bats.
— Karson Lee is the only hitter to be in the offensive lineup every game.
— Lee has recorded at least one run, one hit and one RBI in six games.
— Evan McClendon is batting .481 (13-of-27), despite recording 1-for-6 in his last two games.
— McClendon and Clark are the lone batters with a home run (one apiece).
— Kaeden Young has scored in eight of the 10 games he has batted.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Focus on Doenges Ford 19-U baseball
