Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball team downs Schaeffer Academy 12-2 in five innings in Section 1A opener

The Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball team, the No. 2 seed in the Section 1A tournament played host to No. 15 seed Schaeffer Academy in the opening round of the tournament at Riverland Community College in Austin Thursday after it was determined that conditions were still too wet at Marcusen Park, and it was the Athletics storming back after spotting the Lions a 2-0 lead to move into the double-elimination portion of the tournament by a 12-2 final in five innings.

Schaeffer Academy used a single, a hit batsman, a passed ball and three walks in the top of the first to claim a 2-0 lead, but Lyle/Pacelli cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom half of the inning when first baseman Landon Meyer led off with a double and later scored on a bloop single into shallow centerfield off the bat of cleanup hitter Jake Truckenmiller.  The Athletics wound up taking the lead for good in the second inning when leftfielder Trey Anderson led off by drawing a walk, stealing second, going to third on a passed ball and scoring on a RBI single from designated hitter Isaac Nelson.  No. 9 hitter Jack Klingfus followed with a walk, went to second on another passed ball and scored on a RBI double from Landon Meyer.  Mac Nelson followed Meyer by drawing another walk, centerfielder Hunter VaDeer singled and both moved ahead 90 feet on yet another passed ball.  After Jake Truckenmiller was hit by a pitch with two outs, second baseman Dane Schara followed with a huge two-RBI single to give LP a 5-0 lead.

Lyle/Pacelli later added to their lead in the bottom of the third when, with two outs, Jack Klingfus singled and later scored when Landon Meyer singled and Mac Nelson reached on a two-base error.  The Athletics then broke the game wide open in the fourth when, with one out, Dane Schara reached on a two-base error and scored when Blake Klingfus followed wiht a RBI double.  Klingfus went to third on a wild pitch, Trey Anderson drew a walk and stole second, and Klingfus scored on a RBI groundout from Isaac Nelson.  Anderson, who went to third on the groundout scored on another wild pitch from Lions starting pitcher Cole Morgan to make the scored 9-2, and Morgan then issued three straight two-out walks to Jack Klingfus, Landon Meyer and Mac Nelson to load the bases.  Hunter VaDeer then cleared the bases with a triple off reliever Matthew Gingerich to cap off an inning that saw the Athletics send 10 men to the plate and take a 12-2 lead.  Pinch-hitter Miklos Bauman and Gingerich, who had three of the Lions’ five hits in the game also singled to put runners at first and second in the top of the fifth, but Gingerich was caught off of first base on a pickoff throw from pitcher Jake Truckenmiller and tagged out in a rundown to end the game via the 10-run rule.

Landon Meyer wound up going 3 for 3 to help lead Lyle/Pacelli offensively with two doubles, a single, a RBI and two runs scored, Hunter VaDeer was 2 for 4 with a single, the three-RBI triple and a run scored, Jake Truckenmiller was 1 for 3 with a RBI single, Dane Schara went 1 for 3 with the big two-RBI single in the second inning, Blake Klingfus was 1 for 3 with a RBI double and a run scored and Isaac Nelson was 1 for 3 with a pair of RBI’s.

Mac Nelson got the start on the mound for Lyle/Pacelli and went two innings, giving up the two Schaeffer Academy runs, both earned on two hits, striking out four and walking four.  Jack Klingfus then came into the game in the top of the third and was credited with the win after he went 2 1/3rds and gave up no runs on one hit, striking out three and walking four, and Truckenmiller went the last 2/3rds of an inning and struck out one as after the quick start, the Lions wound up stranding 11 men on base for the game.

With the win, their eighth in a row, the Athletics are now 15-4 on the season, and they will be back in action at Riverland on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. versus No. 10 seed Wabasha/Kellogg, who blanked No. 7 seed Spring Grove Thursday 2-0.