Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball blanks Houston 4-0 in season opener Thursday

The Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball team, the defending Southeast Conference champions and Section 1A runner-up in 2022 opened the 2023 season in Houston Thursday versus the Hurricanes in a Southeast Conference matchup, and righthander Hunter VaDeer looked to be in midseason form as he fanned 18 Hurricane hitters in six innings of work in a 4-0 Athletics win.

Lyle/Pacelli jumped out in front 2-0 in the top of the first, and VaDeer did the rest, not only on the mound, but also with his bat, as he belted two of LP’s four hits in the game in four trips to the plate, knocking in one run and scoring two more.  Isaac Nelsen and Landon Meyer picked up the other two hits in the game for the Athletics, with Nelsen registering an RBI, and Jake Truckenmiller and Trey Anderson scored the other runs in the game as LP added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

VaDeer fanned 18 batters and walked two, and gave up the only hit Houston registered in the contest, and Isaac Nelsen pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out one in the win.

With the win, Lyle/Pacelli opens the season 1-0, and the Athletics are now off until Monday, April 17th when they play host to St. Clair in their home opener at Marcusen Park, with first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. that afternoon.