MCC 12, HLOF 4

HERON LAKE — Four Rebels finished with multiple hits on Thursday night as the Murray County Central baseball team ran away with a 12-4 road win over Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda.

Krew Schneider led the team with three hits and tied Owen Gillette with a game-high three RBIs in the road matchup. Gillette, Teague Meyer and Cayden Veldhuisen each also contributed a pair of hits in the win while Gillette and Dierks each recorded a double on the day.

Beyond his impact in the batter’s box, Schneider also recorded the win on the mound. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and four walks while striking out seven batters before being relieved.

The Rebels shifted all momentum in their favor in the fourth inning. Leading 3-1 heading into the frame, the Rebels scored six runs to take control. 

A Veldhuisen single and walks from Jesse Klein and Meyer loaded the bases with one out. Aidan Dierks started the rally with a double to drive in two runs and a pair of passed balls gave the Rebels a 7-1 lead with two outs. Gillette then doubled and scored on a pair of wild pitches to give the Rebels a 9-1 lead before the inning ended.

Veldhiuisen closed the game out on the mound with 1 2/3 perfect innings. He struck out two of the five batters he faced.

Trailing 10-1 in the bottom of the seventh, HLOF rallied for three runs but MCC came back with another pair of runs in the top of the seventh to close out the Coyotes.

MCC improves to 4-1 with the win and will look to capture its fourth consecutive victory when it heads to Lamberton to take on Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Minneota 10, Canby 1

CANBY — The Minneota Vikings pulled away late in their baseball game against Canby on Thursday. Coming in as the visitors, the Vikings rattled off six runs in the seventh inning to put the finishing touches on a 10-1 win.

Holding a 3-1 lead heading into the final frame, the Vikings broke the game open with a statement. Carson Javers started the inning with a walk before a Brody Larson single and a Ryan Dalager double quickly doubled the Minneota lead.

After a pop-out put one away, Ryan Meagher singled to drive in another run. Kyler Lozinski and Joe Voit then walked and reached on an error to load the bases and Peyton SHeik got hit by a pitch to force in a run.

Canby made a pitching change but it was no use; Javers reached on an error to drive in one run and Larson walked to force in another before a play at the plate ended the inning with the Vikings on top, 10-1.

Dalager retired the Lancers in order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game. It was his only inning of work as he struck out two of the three batters he faced on the day.

Larson picked up the win on the mound for Minneota, pitching four innings while striking out seven batters. He allowed a pair of hits, a pair of walks and one earned run. 

Javers also pitched two shutout innings as a middle reliever, striking out four batters and allowing two hits.

Dalager, Gruenes and Meagher each had a pair of hits for the Vikings. Dalager’s seventh-inning double was the game’s only extra-base hit.

Canby trailed 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth when they scored their lone run. Liam MacArthur singled, stole second and advanced to third on a Jace Sigler single. A failed pickoff attempt then allowed MacArthur to score and put the Lancers on the board, but a groundout and a flyout prevented Sigler from advancing past second.

Colton Ruether was charged with the loss for Canby. He allowed three earned runs on four hits over five innings. He struck out six batters while allowing six walks. 

Canby falls to 0-3 with the loss while Minneota improves to 2-2. The Lancers will next host Ortonville on Tuesday while Minneota will head out on the road to face Dawson-Boyd.

A/E 14, RTR 4 (6)

ADRIAN — A string of third-inning defensive struggles was too much for the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton baseball team to overcome on Thursday in a 14-4 road loss to Adrian-Ellsworth.

The Knights led 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third when the tides shifted. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for the Dragons with one out and an RTR error allowed Adrian to score a pair of runs in the next at-bat. A single reloaded the bases and another single and a walk forced in another pair of runs for a 4-3 Adrian/Ellsworth lead.

A strikeout put two outs against the Dragons but Adrian/Ellsworth kept coming. The Dragons drew a walk to force in one run, a passed ball gave the Dragons another two, and a fielding error in the same at-bat made the score 8-3.

Adrian/Ellsworth scored another pair of runs in each of the next three innings while holding RTR to just one more run, triggering the mercy rule at the end of the sixth.

Eli Determan and Tyler Wichmann were the only Knights to reach base multiple times in the game. Determan finished with two singles and an RBi while Wichmann drew a pair of walks and scored a run; no Knights had an extra-base hit in the game.

Blake Christianson pitched the first 2 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits and six walks. Another four unearned runs also crossed the plate.

Kolby Louwagie pitched the next 2 2/3 innings, allowing five unearned runs on two hits with four strikeouts, while Brayden Chandler pitched another 1/3 innings with one earned run allowed on two hits and two walks.

The Knights struck first when Gabe Elton singled to drive in Chase Christianson in the top of the second. An inning later, Wichmann drew a one-out walk and scored when Blake Christianson reached on an error. Christianson then stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a Determan single before a double play ended the inning.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton falls to 2-4 with the loss and will look to bounce back when it hosts Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey on Saturday at noon. 

PREP SOFTBALL

TMB 18, DB 12

TRACY — Hot bats around the order led the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers to victory on Thursday night. TMB scored 11 runs in the first two innings and held off a late rally from Dawson-Boyd to capture an 18-12 win.

Jordyn Hanson led the Panthers with four hits on the night. She also had a walk and scored four runs while Aliyah Loftness, Brianna Duscher and Jaida Fricke each had another three hits. Fricke’s three RBI were also a team-high.

Fricke also recorded the win in the circle for TMB, pitching six innings while allowing eight runs on 14 hits. She also struck out eight batters on the day.

Dawson-Boyd opened the game with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, courtesy of a Macy Moen two-run double. Yet, the Panthers came back even stronger in the bottom of the frame.

Braelynn Kierk and Melaina Ankrum each walked with a Hanson single in between loading the bases. Loftnesscapitalized with an RBIsingle, Hanson stole home and Duscher walked to give the Panthers their first lead of the game, 3-2. Fricke then doubled in Loftness for a run and, after Duscher was caught stealing home, Fricke and Schultz successfully stole home to make it 6-2.

Alli Estling had a quality day at the dish for Dawson-Boyd. Her three hits tied Taylen Jorgenson and Natyah Ritter for second on the team behind Madalyn Wente’s four and her three RBIs were a team-high. Among Estling’s hits was a three-run home run to make the score 17-12 in the top of the sixth, capping off a four-run inning for the Blackjacks.

Dawson-Boyd tried to rally in the top of the second when Natyah Ritter stole home, Taylen Jorgenson singled in a run, and Madalyn Wente stole home to make the score 6-5. That was as close as the Blackjacks would get, however; RBI singles from Fricke and Emma Chandler, a Piper Freeburg walk to force in a run and another pair of passed ball runs from Hanson and Fricke made the score 11-5 in favor of the Panthers.

Wente started on the mound for Dawson-Boyd, allowing six runs in the first inning before being relieved by Estling to start the second.

Estling pitched the final five innings, allowing 12 earned runs on 18 hits with four strikeouts.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton improves to 2-3 with the win while Dawson-Boyd falls to 0-3.

The Panthers will host Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove today at 4:30 p.m. while Dawson-Boyd will next host MACCRAY on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

MCC 17, HLOF 2 (4)

SLAYTON — Calleigh Doeden drove in nearly a third of the Murray County Central softball team’s runs on Thursday night as the Rebels ran away with a 17-2 home victory over Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, Doeden crushed a fly ball to left field. The ball didn’t leave the park but Doeden sped around the bases, driving in all three runs for a grand slam and a 12-0 MCC lead. Doeden finished the day with six RBIs, two hits and a walk in three at-bats.

Thea Schneider was hard to hit in the circle on Thursday. The junior pitcher held the Coyotes to two hits and a walk over four innings. She struck out four batters and both of the runs she allowed were unearned. She also had a double, two walks and an RBI at the plate.

MCC had its offense rolling from the first pitch. The Rebels tacked on five runs in the first inning and another seven in the second to jump out to an early lead. Even after HLOF got on the board with a pair of third-inning runs, the Rebels matched in the bottom of the frame and scored an additional three innings the next inning to seal the run rule.

MCC improves to 5-1 with the win and will now head to Walnut Grove for a matchup against Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove on Saturday at 11 a.m.