Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball team downs Spring Grove 3-1 Monday

In a game you heard on AM 1480 KAUS, the Lyle/Pacelli Athletics baseball team was looking to keep its record unblemished at sunny, but windy and cold Marcusen Park Monday afternoon versus Southeast Conference foe Spring Grove, and the pitching of righthander Isaac Nelsen and two unearned runs for the Athletics in the bottom of the fifth inning lifted the squad to a 3-1 win.

Spring Grove took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when pitcher Caleb Griffin, who struck out 11 batters in the game reached on a two-base throwing error with one out, and then scored when catcher Ezra Griffin singled for an RBI.  Lyle/Pacelli tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second when cleanup hitter Jake Truckenmiller walked, went to third on an errant pickoff attempt, and then scored on a one-out single from Isaac Nelsen.

Nelsen retired nine batters in a row until Lions shortstop Nathan Solberg struck out but reached on a passed ball to start the fifth inning.  Spring Grove wound up loading the bases with an error and a walk and were threatening to break the tie with one out when Athletics third baseman Jack Klingfus made a diving catch on a low liner off the bat of Ezra Griffin for the second out, and Nelsen then struck out Lions cleanup hitter Brandon Jahnke to end the threat.  With momentum on their side, the Athletics then took the lead in the bottom half of the inning when leadoff hitter Landon Meyer walked, and with two out, Truckenmiller hit a grounder to Solberg at shortstop, but his throw to first baseman Jaxon Stringmoen was low and skipped past him to the fence on the first base side to move Meyer to third and Truckenmiller to second.  Second baseman Dane Schara then came through with a seeing-eye, two-RBI single through the left side of the infield to plate the eventual winning runs for the Athletics.

Nelsen earned his second win of the season on the mound for LP as he gave up the one run, which was unearned, on three hits, striking out eight and walking one.  Offfensively for the Athletics, Nelsen and Schara were both 1 for 3 with RBI singles, and leftfielder Trey Anderson went 1 for 2 with a double.

With the win, Lyle/Pacelli is now 5-0 in the Southeast Conference and 6-0 overall, and the Athletics continue a busy week of action today (Tuesday) at Marcusen Park versus Houston, with first pitch at 4:30 p.m.  Lyle/Pacelli will then hit the road for a pair of Southeast Conference games Thursday and Friday, as they will travel to Adams to take on Southland Thursday, and they will meet Spring Grove again Friday.