OKABENA — The Tracy-Milroy-Balaton baseball team put together an absolute slugfest in their non-conference matchup against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda on Tuesday night. The Panthers exploded for 13 second-inning runs and rode their pitching from there to a 21-0 win via five-inning mercy rule.

Connor Lanoue pitched a five-inning shutout for TMB, striking out nine batters while limiting the Coyotes to a pair of hits and three walks. As a batter, he stole six bases after reaching base on four walks and a single.

Brody Hauger led TMB’s offensive attack with a triple, a single and four RBIs. Jackson Kruse added another four RBIs on a pair of singles while Aidan Sanow logged a double, a single, a walk and two RBIs.

A Taylor Squires single and walks to Lanoue and Griffin Zick loaded the bases on the game’s first three at-bats. Schuh singled in one run, Lanoue scored on a passed ball and Sanow singled home Zick and Schuh to give TMB a 4-0 lead after the first.

TMB’s momentum only grew stronger in the second inning. The Panthers drew three straight walks to start the frame before a passed ball and a Zick single scored a pair of runs. Schuh and Kruse each followed up with RBI singles before a walk to Sanow loaded the bases, and Hauger quickly sent them all home with a three-run triple.

Marron kept the ball rolling with an RBI single and Zick was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded before HLOF retired the first batter of the second, bringing the score to 15-0. Then three passed balls allowed three more runners to score, making the score 18-0 before the Coyotes retired two of the next three batters to get out of the jam with runners on the corners.

TMB improves to 1-1 on the season and next takes on Yellow Medicine East in Granite Falls on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE

BATTING

T. Squires: 1-2, 3 BB, 3 SB, 2 R; Co. Lanoue: 1-1, 4 BB, 6 SB, 4 R; G. Zick: 1-2, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 5 SB, 3 R, HBP, SO; D. Schuh: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB, SO; J. Kruse: 2-5, 4 RBI, R; A. Sanow: 2-4 (2B), 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB, 2 R; B. Hauger: 2-4 (3B), 4 RBI, R, SO; Ca. Lanoue: 0-2, HBP, SB, R, 2 SO; J. Willhite: 0-1, SB, 2 R; B. Marron: 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, SB, 2 R, SO.

PITCHING

Co. Lanoue: W, 5 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 9 SO.