Austin Packers baseball team falls to Northfield 5-2 Thursday

The Austin Packers baseball team was looking to get back on the winning track Thursday as they traveled to Northfield to take on the Raiders in a Big 9 Conference and Section 1AAA matchup, and in a game where the Packers took an early lead, the Raiders were able to rally to win 5-2 on their home field.

The Packers led 2-1 in the early going with single runs in the first and third innings, but the Raiders answered back by using small ball to their advantage, as they utilized bunts to move runners around the bases and scored two runs in the bottom of the third and two more in the fourth to take a 5-2 lead.  The Raiders then used pitching and just enough defense to secure the win, as senior pitcher Tegan Mellgren went the first five innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits, striking out five and walking one, while fellow senior pitcher Grant Hutton went the last two innings and gave up no runs on no hits, striking out one and walking none.  The final line score for Austin was two runs, three hits and three errors, while Northfield tallied five runs, five hits and four errors.

Peyton Ransom pitched the first five innings for the Packers and gave up the five Northfield runs, with two earned, on five hits, striking out five and walking four.  Isaiah Conway then pitched a scoreless sixth inning for Austin, walking two and striking out none.  Offensively for the Packers, Ethan Anderson led the way by belting out two of the team’s three hits in three trips to the plate with an RBI, and Isaac Osgood was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

With the loss, the Packers are now 2-4 in the Big 9 Conference and 2-4 overall, and the squad will return to action next Tuesday at Dick Seltz Field versus Rochester Century, with first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m.