The NRHEG baseball team opened its season on an up note, defeating St. Clair 8-6 in a nonconference game at New Richland’s Legion Field last Thursday.
It was a typical opener for the Panthers, who fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, rallied and held on in the end.
Senior Carter Tollefson led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a bases-loaded triple, a walk and the game-winning single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jacob Staloch drove in two runs with a double.
Senior Mitch Akemann — working through a strained rotator cuff — started on the mound for the Panthers and struggled in the early going, giving up four first-inning runs after an error, three walks and three hits.
Akemann settled down after that and the Panthers came back, scoring twice in the bottom of the second to narrow the gap to 4-2.Sam Lundberg scored in the third to make it 4-3.
The Panthers scored three runs in the fourth to give NRHEG a 6-4 lead, but St. Clair tied it in the fifth on a triple off Akemann.
After relief pitcher David Lassahn worked out of a jam in the top of the sixth, Tollefson came through in the bottom.
The Panthers play Thursday at Randolph and Monday at home against WEM.