Austin baseball falls to Winona 9-4 Thursday

The Austin Packers baseball team was looking to get back on the winning track Thursday in Winona in a Big 9 Conference matchup with the Winhawks, and the Packers led 4-1 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning only to see Winona erupt for eight runs in the frame, four of them on a grand slam home run off the bat of leadoff hitter Quinn Larsen to rally for a 9-4 win.

Bray Klapperick belted out three of Austin’s 11 hits in three trips to the plate with a RBI and a run scored, Teyghan Hovland went 2 for 4, Dakota Retterath and Jared Lillemon were both 1 for 4 for the Packers, Logan Murphy was 1 for 3 with a run scored, Blake Smith was 1 for 1 and Bryce Fischer was 2 for 3 for Austin with a RBI and a run scored.

Nic Robertson got the start on the mound for Austin and pitched the first five innings, giving up one run on five hits, striking out five and walking three, Ian Bundy then pitched 2/3rds of an inning and was tagged with the loss as he gave up eight runs, seven earned on five hits, striking out one and walking two, and Lathan Wilson pitched the last 1/3 rd of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits and one walk.

With the loss, Austin falls to 2-7 on the season, and the Packers will start a three-game homestand next Tuesday at Dick Seltz Field against Faribault, with first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m.