Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota catcher Mason Javers (8) high-fives teammates and coaches as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of a Camden Conference baseball game against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton at K.P. Kompelien Field in Minneota on Tuesday. The Vikings defeated the Panthers 3-2 in the game.

MINNEOTA — Carson Javers’ strong pitching performance and a big hit from Mason Javers helped the Minneota baseball team outlast Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in a Camden Conference pitcher’s duel on Tuesday. Each team only scored one run after the first inning, but Minneota’s early cushion was enough to help the team hold on for a 3-2 win.

“A tight game like this will just teach us that we’re in it no matter what,” Carson Javers said. “We have the guys that can do it, and we’re in it every game.”

Mason Javers gave Minneota an extra bit of insurance in the fifth inning, crushing the second pitch he saw to left-center field for a solo home run and a 3-1 lead. While Javers said that the shot was far from his first home run, it was his first at the varsity level.

“Off the bat, I knew it had a chance,” Mason Javers said. “I was like, ‘Well, it’d be nice to go over and give us a couple of extra runs,’ and that kind of sealed the deal… It was just a lot of excitement and joy.”

The Panthers got off to a hot start in the game when Taylor Squires, Connor Lanoue and Trevor Smith each singled in the game’s first three at-bats. Yet, a 1-4-3 double play and a ground out halted the early rally in its tracks.

Minneota responded expeditiously in the bottom of the frame. The Panthers retired each of the first two batters of the inning, but Ryan Meagher singled before scoring the tying run when Eli Gruenes reached base on a two-bag error, and Carson Javers singled in the go-ahead run for a 2-1 Viking lead.

“Since I’ve been the head coach, all of these games against Minneota have felt like playoff games,” TMB head coach James Fultz said. “You see good pitching for both sides, pretty good defense from both sides and the bats were fairly similar to each side. They just got a few more hits. That’s how baseball goes sometimes, so you’ll take it. 

“When it feels like a playoff game, it’s tough to replicate in high school baseball. So when you see good pitching, hopefully the guys learn from it and then it translates down the line when you’re seeing good pitching again.”

Carson Javers pitched the first six innings for Minneota, holding the Panthers scoreless for the final five innings of his time on the mound. He struck out seven batters in the game while giving up seven hits, all of which were singles, and a walk. 

Carson Javers cited his off-speed and his ability to locate his curveballs and sliders well as focal points of his efficiency on the mound, adding that he also felt that the opportunity to blow a few fastballs by the Panthers at points.

Mason Javers also pitched the final inning for Minneota to earn the save, giving up one earned run on two hits and a walk.

Lanoue got the start for TMB, throwing all six innings while surrendering one earned run on six hits. He struck out a pair of batters without allowing a walk.

While the Panthers had struggled on the defensive side of the ball at points this season, they played clean defense on Tuesday to finish the game with just one error. Minneota did not commit an error in the game.

“After that game on Friday against Canby [in which they committed six errors], they were a little frustrated with how the defense was. They took good rounds in practice yesterday and it translated today,” Fultz said. “It helps when your pitcher is dealing, like Connor was today. It helps when he has pace and he’s throwing strikes and forcing weak contact, you can play defense behind that.”

TMB made a valiant comeback effort in the top of the seventh. Jackson Kruse walked to start the inning before a strikeout and a ground out left him on third with the Panthers down to their last out. Lanoue then singled in Kruse and advanced to second on a Trevor Smith single, but a ground out ended the game with the tying run stranded.

Meagher contributed two of Minneota’s six hits while Squires, Lanoue and Smith each accounted for two of TMB’s nine.

Minneota improves to 12-5 overall on the season after picking up its third consecutive win and will try to carry that momentum into Madison when it takes on Lac qui Parle Valley (6-6) on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton falls to 8-8 with the loss, now having lost three of its last four games. The Panthers will try to recapture their potential and get back above .500 when they go on the road to take on Renville County West (0-12) in Sacred Heart on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.