Huskies split first two games
Owatonna shortstop Nolan Rolloff turns a double play against the Northfield Raiders last week at Dartts Park. Rolloff successfully completed the play and helped Owatonna to a big 13-3 conference win over the Raiders. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
A stellar 13-3 win over Northfield on opening day had Owatonna baseball riding high, but a 7-3 loss to Austin brought the Huskies back to earth just days later.
The game against the Packers got out of hand quickly after Austin leapt out to a 5-0 lead through three innings.
Most of the damage was done in the first when two initial walks were punished by an RBI single and a two-RBI double in consecutive at bats.
Owatonna’s offense got off to a slow start against the Packers with three, one-two-three innings in the first four frames.
Meanwhile, Austin went to work building off the Huskies’ mistakes by scoring two more runs in the third after earning five walks.
The bottom of the fifth inning was the next time either team scored, and it was a near mirror image to the third with Austin scoring another run after recording four walks.
Now trailing 6-0, Owatonna’s offense jolted to life with three runs in the top of the sixth.
A single by Isaiah Farwell and a walk for Jace Ulrich led to a first-and-second scenario that improved to second and third following a dropped third strike during an at bat for Will Frantesl.
Will Radel stepped up to the plate next and got his team on the board with a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Farwell from third.
Joe Klecker walked in the next plate appearance and set up teammate A.J. Ulrich for a two-RBI double that cut the deficit to three runs.
However, Austin answered with an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when a fielding error by Jace Ulrich at third base allowed a runner to advance to second and eventually score on a single.
Owatonna was held in check in the top of the seventh to end the game at 7-3 for the Packers.
The Huskies’ blowout win against Northfield was a much cleaner game for the team as it jumped out to an 8-0 lead through three innings.
Bentley Arvig scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch from third base, giving Owatonna its initial 1-0 lead in the first.
Most of Owatonna’s run support came in the second when Nolan Rolloff opened the inning with a triple to deep center field before being knocked home by an RBI single by Arvig.
A walk for Farwell gave Owatonna runners on first and second, but both crossed home in the next at bat when Jace Ulrich put a double in the right field gap to put his team up 4-0.
Frantesl ultimately batted in the final run of the inning, but was punched out trying to advance to second base by an excellent throw from a Raiders’ outfielder.
Three more Owatonna runs came in the third inning with Radel scoring on a wild pitch, Jae Herzog laying down a sacrifice bunt to score Klecker, and Arvig batting in a run with another RBI single.
Northfield added one run in the top of the fifth and two more in sixth, but Owatonna ended the night early with five runs in the bottom of the sixth to bring the mercy rule into effect.
The final five runs came off the bats of Radel (RBI single), Rolloff (two-RBI double) and Arvig (two-RBI single) to end the game.
Owatonna’s next matchup will be on the road against Rochester Mayo on Thursday, April 16 at 5 p.m.
|
Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
Final |
|
Owatonna |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
|
Austin |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
Player Stats
vs. Austin
H R RBI
Farwell 2 1 0
A. Ulrich 1 0 2
Klecker 0 1 0
J. Ulrich 0 1 0
Radel 0 0 1
IP H R ER K BB
Gautier 0.2 2 3 3 0 1
Tackmann 1.2 0 1 1 0 2
Flores 1.0 0 1 1 1 4
Campion 1.2 1 1 1 2 2
Radel 1.0 2 1 0 0 0
