Panthers eliminated from section baseball
Catcher Ben Schoenrock of the Panthers prepares to make a play at the plate against a Belle Plaine runner in the two teams’ game last week. Schoenrock and the Panthers were defeated 13-2 by the Tigers to officially end the squad’s 2022 season. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
NRHEG’s run in the elimination bracket of the Section 2AA tournament came to an end after Belle Plaine won a decisive 13-2 game against the Panthers at Walsh Field in Gaylord last week.
Despite an early push from both sides, it was Belle Plaine that eventually pulled away after a massive second inning that NRHEG could not recover from.
“They’re a really good team, and they played solid. I felt like we had chances early – like in the first two innings when we had the bases loaded both times – we just didn’t get that one hit we needed, and sometimes that’s just how it’s been,” said NRHEG Coach Mark Lee.
After surrendering two runs in the top of the first inning, NRHEG fought back to erase the early deficit by scoring a run of its own in the bottom of the first inning to make the game 2-1.
However, the Tigers had the answer for NRHEG’s pitching in the second inning when Belle Plaine exploded for six runs behind a flurry of hits and walks.
The Tigers responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning, but the damage was enough to put Belle Plaine in the driver’s seat with an 8-2 lead.
Belle Plaine extended its lead to 12-2 after pouring on four more runs in the top of the third inning, putting the Panthers in danger of a 10-run mercy rules loss as the fourth and fifth innings approached.
The fourth inning was the only blank inning of the game where both teams were held scoreless. Belle Plaine put the nail in the coffin in the top of the fifth inning with the game’s final run to make the score 13-2 where the game would eventually end.
NRHEG was unable to find the two runs it needed in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game alive, thus ending the game early at 13-2 due to the 10-run mercy rule after five innings.
Despite the 11-run difference in the score, NRHEG was competitive putting the ball in play against the Tigers and were only out-hit 12-9.
The Panthers deployed a trio of pitchers against the Tigers with Alex Dobberstein starting the first 1.2 innings before being relieved by Sam Olson and Clay Stenzel.
On offense, Olson and Stenzel both contributed to NRHEG’s two runs by earning an RBI on one hit a piece.
The loss to Belle Plaine officially ended the Panthers’ 2022 campaign.