Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball team downs Blooming Prairie 6-4 Saturday
In a game you heard on AM 1480 KAUS Saturday, the Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball team, the No. 1 team in the state in the latest Class A poll finished off a stretch of seven games in five days in their annual 3-team invitational at Marcusen Park, and in the first game of the day versus the Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms, it was the Athletics rallying back from an early 4-0 deficit to win 6-4.
The Blossoms broke out of the gate quickly Saturday as leadoff hitter Carsten Ingvaldson and No. 2 hitter Brady Kittleson both singled to start the game, and freshman pitcher Gabe Staloh then belted a two-RBI triple down the right field line to score both Ingvaldson and Kittleson for a quick 2-0 Blooming Prairie lead. Staloh then scored when cleanup hitter Alex Lea reached on an error, and Lea later scored when rightfielder Elliot Gimbel, who was the ninth of ten men to hit in the inning for the Blossoms singled with the bases loaded to give BP a 4-0 lead.
The Athletics answered right back in the bottom half of the inning when leadoff hitter Landon Meyer stroked a ground ball into right field for a base hit and, with one out, centerfielder Hunter VaDeer drew a walk, and he and Meyer both moved ahead 90 feet on a wild pitch. Cleanup hitter Isaac Nelsen then plated both Meyer and VaDeer with a two-RBI double to cut the Blooming Prairie lead in half at 4-2. Nelsen later scored when Hunter Wollenburg drew a bases loaded walk to make the score 4-3.
Both teams moved runners into scoring position in the second and third innings, but both were unable to push a run across the plate until the bottom of the fourth when Bo Zwiner, who came in to pitch in relief from third base for the Blossoms hit Landon Meyer and and Logyn Brooks with pitches, and Hunter VaDeer then doubled to the fence in left-center to tie the game at 4-4, and Brooks then scored from third on an RBI groundout from Isaac Nelsen to give the Athletics their first lead of the game at 5-4.
The Athletics then increased their lead to 6-4 in the fifth inning when Isaac Small led off with a single, and he moved down to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Hunter Wollenburg. Shortstop Grady Meyer then reached on a two-base throwing error, which scored Small with an unearned run. Veteran righthander Isaac Nelsen then releived starter Dane Schara for LP in the top of the sixth inning and gave up back-to-back singles to Carsten Ingvaldson and Brady Kittleson to start, and they eventually moved into scoring position with three stolen bases, but Nelsen then struck out the next two hitters and induced a comebacker off the bat of Cale Braaten of the Blossoms to keep the score at 6-4. Nelsen then retired the Blossoms 1-2-3 for the first time in the game in the top of the 7th to seal the win.
Offensively for Lyle/Pacelli, Landon Meyer was officially 2 for 2 with two singles and two runs scored, Hunter VaDeer was 1 for 3 with the RBI double and a run scored, Isaac Nelsen was 1 for 4 with the double and three RBI’s, Dane Schara was 1 for 2 with a single, and Isaac Small was 1 for 3 with a run scored. For Blooming Prairie, both Carter Ingvaldson and Brady Kittleson were 2 for 4 with a run scored, Gabe Staloh wound up going 2 for 4 with a triple, a single, two RBI’s and a run scored, Alex Lea was 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored, Dylan Anderson went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles, and Elliot Gimbel was 1 for 3 with an RBI.
Dane Schara earned the win on the mound for the Athletics as he pitched the first five innings and gave up the four Blooming Prairie runs, two of which were earned, on eight hits, striking out nine and walking none, while Isaac Nelsen earned the save as he gave up no runs on two hits, striking out four and walking none. Bo Zwiner, who was the second of three pitchers to take the mound for the Blossoms Saturday was tagged with the loss, as he gave up three runs, all earned, on three hits, striking out two, walking none and hitting one batter as Lyle/Pacelli totaled six runs on six hits, three errors and 11 men left on base, while Blooming Prairie totaled four runs, 10 hits, no errors and left 10 men on base.
In the second game of the day at Marcusen Park Saturday, the Athletics remained unbeaten at 15-0 as they downed Wabasha-Kellogg 11-4, and Blooming Prairie moved back to .500 at 7-7 with an 8-1 over the Falcons in the third game.
The Athletics return to action on Tuesday as they play host to Spring Grove, with the Southeast Conference matchup scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m., while the Awesome Blossoms will play host to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown in a Gopher Conference matchup Monday at 4:30 p.m.
