- Details
- Hits: 77
By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
The NRHEG High School softball team opened the 2024 season with a 6-0 loss at Randolph Thursday, April 4.
The Panthers were held to four hits, two by Izzy Stadheim and one apiece by Faith Nielsen and Olivia Berg.
Nielsen pitched for the Panthers, allowing four earned runs on eight hits, with four strikeouts and a walk. Winning pitcher Carter Raymond struck out 13 and walked four.
"Defensively, I thought we played really well against a solid Randolph team," said NRHEG coach Kayley Camerer. "We had minor miscues but were able to get outs when we need them. Faith pitched a good game against a great hitting team in Randolph. Offensively, we struggled a bit, but we were able to see the ball better towards the end of the game, which I hope will give us the confidence going into our next few games."
The Panthers faced Austin Saturday and ran into another hot pitcher while falling 4-0.
Stadheim and Payton Bunn had the Panthers' lone hits.
Nielsen pitched, giving up one earned run on three hits. She struck out three and walked three.
Winning pitcher K. Schaefer struck out 10 and did not issue a walk.
The Panthers broke into the victory column Monday with a 16-0 triumph over visiting Triton at Legion Field.
Stadheim went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and one RBI, Izley Boerner 1-for-2 with two runs and three RBIs, Faith Nielsen 1-for-2 with a run, Preslie Nielsen 1-for-2 with a double, three runs and one RBI, Erin Peterson 1-for-3 with a double, two runs and one RBI, Tayler Schmidt 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Bunn and Aspyn Stenzel each had a hit and scored a run. Bunn had an RBI.
Faith Nielsen pitched a complete game, allowing no earned runs on two hits, with two strikeouts and three walks.
The Panthers are scheduled to play Thursday, April 11 at United South Central. They host Blooming Prairie Friday and play Monday at Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther.
- Details
- Hits: 86
By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
You can say this about the young, senior-less NRHEG High School baseball team: it's definitely improving.
The Panthers trekked to Dodge Center to face Triton Monday, and it took two extra innings for the Cobras to emerge for an 8-7 triumph.
It was a vast improvement from last week, when the Panthers were outscored 26-1 in two games to open the season 0-2.
Seth Staloch, Jordan Brouwers and Jared Lee had multi-hit games at Triton, with Staloch going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Brouwers 2-for-3 with three runs scored, Lee 3-for-5 with one RBI. Adding one hit apiece were A.Dean, Devon Parpart, Ryan Schlaak and Wyatt Larson.
Larson took the pitching loss in three innings of relief of starter Aeden Schlaak. Carter Martens also pitched. They combined to strike out six and walk eight.
"It is unfortunate to lose in a game like this," said coach Shawn Larson. "We played so much better than we have been playing lately. It was fun for us to be mixed up in a game where it was back and forth and exciting. We were more aggressive at the plate today than we have been, and we played cleaner in the defense. Triton just did what they needed to do."
Triton's starting pitcher went all nine innings, fanning nine and walking three.
The Panthers opened the season last Thursday at Jeff and Carol Reese Field, where they fell 16-1 in five innings to a strong Randolph crew.
The Panthers totaled two hits, one apiece by Lee and Parpart. Lee drove in the lone NRHEG run.
Alden Dobberstein started and took the pitching loss, with Parpart going 2 1/3 innings in relief. They combined for seven strikeouts and 10 walks. Two Randolph pitchers teamed for 11 strikeouts and two walks.
"It is expected that at the beginning of the season that the team will make mistakes," said Coach Larson. "We made several mistakes that we will be working on. The only thing we can do is work at getting better at ball for the time being. The best part of baseball is that tomorrow is a new day and we will have a chance in that one. Randolph was very good tonight at capitalizing on errors. Besides that, they were tough at the plate all the way through their lineup, and found several hits to complement the unearned runs they scored. They are a good team."
The Panthers fell 10-0 in five innings at LeSueur-Henderson last Friday.
NRHEG was held hitless while striking out 12 times and walking once against two LSH pitchers. Lee started and absorbed the loss for the Panthers.
"After two days in a row of the same thing, it is hard to say we are making improvements," said Coach Larson. "We need work on almost every aspect of baseball right now. I will say that being more aggressive at the plate, and more disciplined on defense are the two areas that will help us the most to improve. We were no-hit in this game, partly because we were tentative, but mainly because Gupton and Tellijohn pitched very well."
The Panthers host United South Central Thursday, April 11 at 4:30. They play Friday at Granada-Huntley/EC/ML at 5 p.m. and are at Waseca April 18 for a 5 p.m. game.
- Details
- Hits: 550
By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
During the last three-plus decades, a lot of coaches have came and gone for New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva athletic teams. Except for one sport: track and field.
Duey Ferber enters his 34th season at the helm of the program. He remains as optimistic as ever, and he has some good reasons for that optimism with state entrants returning for both the boys and girls.
The boys' team will be led by Will Tuttle, who reached state in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles, placing seventh in the highs. The Panthers' Most Valuable award winner for track and field last spring, Tuttle is one of three captains.
The other captains are Levin Kitzer, voted Most Valuable in track events last year, and Parker Bunn.
Also returning for the boys are Harbor Cromwell, Charlie Fuller, Devon Nelton, Wyatt Tuttle and Brendan Schmidt.
Key athletes graduating off last year's squad include Aidan Deyle, Lucas Hanna, Makota Misgen, Conner Nelson and Sawyer Prigge. Hanna finished seventh in discus at the state meet. Deyle was fourth in the 110 high hurdles at section.
According to Coach Ferber, the Panthers should have solid performers in most every event.
"We have some good athletes in most areas," said Ferber. "We should be strong in our hurdle events and sprint relays. Our long distance has some good younger athletes as well as some upperclassmen. Our jumps have some new athletes to hopefully score some points. We have most of our bases covered."
On the other side of the coin, Ferber said, "We need more events where we can score multiple people."
Avoiding injury is crucial for the Panthers.
"We need to keep everyone healthy and able to compete in all the meets," said Ferber. "We need to work hard and get some of our new members some experience in their events."
Ferber, who guided the Panthers to Gopher Conference championships in 2018 and 2019, said Maple River returns some very good athletes and are the preseason conference favorites. He expects Belle Plaine and Jordan to have solid squads in Section 2A.
"We have a lot of good hard working kids that love to be out there competing and trying to get better," summarized Ferber. "Our upperclassmen do a good job of showing the younger athletes how to work hard to succeed."
So how did the Panthers’ captains get into track:
“I was driving as a student driver with Mr. Ferber,” said Tuttle. “Nine hours that I rode with him, and he convinced me to do it, and I never looked back. He mentioned Brady Agrimson’s name. When I was a kid, oh my goodness I looked up to that guy. That’s all he had so say and I was gung-ho about it because I wanted to be like him.”
“One of the main this is it just looked like a lot of fun,” said Kitzer. “Everyone’s always real happy, messing around and just having a good time.”