Tucker, Schultz toss complete games
Last week was an up-and-down one for the NRHEG baseball team.
It started and ended on a down note, but in between the Panthers picked up their first wins of the season behind strong pitching from Dempsey Tucker and Jack Schultz.
The Panthers ran their record to 2-6 overall and 1-5 in the Gopher Conference under second-year head coach Drew Paukert.
Medford 5, NRHEG 2
The Panthers hosted Medford and struggled to produce runs at Legion Field Monday, April 18.
Freshman Sawyer VanMaldeghem doubled in his first varsity at-bat, while Cole Staloch, Dempsey Tucker and Palmer Peterson singled. NRHEG stranded six baserunners in the first three innings.
Tucker started and took the pitching loss, giving up just one earned run on three hits, with five strikeouts and three walks.
“Dempsey and Nick Meixer each threw a great game,” said Paukert. “Again, defensive miscues cost us.”
NRHEG 7, Martin County West 2
The Panthers made the long trip to Welcome a worthwhile one with their first victory of 2016 on Tuesday.
Schultz pitched a complete game, striking out 12 while allowing no earned runs.
Tucker shined at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Lucas Bailey was 2-for-4 in his first varsity start. Staloch, Peterson and Jason Jongbloedt also hit safely. Sam Prigge drew three walks and scored three times.
“Overall, the team played hard,” said Paukert. “Defensively, we did a much better job tonight making plays for our pitcher. The guys were hustling and getting to the spots they needed to be at.”
NRHEG 9, Blooming Prairie 4
The Panthers made it two in a row Thursday with an easy win at Legion Field.
Tucker had a career night at the plate, 3-for-3 with a triple and four runs scored. Staloch was 2-for-4 with a triple. Eli Lutgens had a hit, a walk and two RBIs. Prigge, Jongbloedt and Trai Wicks had one hit each.
Tucker went the distance on the mound, scattering 10 hits while striking out four.
“It was nice to see us give Dempsey some run support for the first time this season,” said Paukert. “In his previous two starts, he threw great games and we weren’t able to capitalize on those outings. Today, he didn’t have his best stuff, but he was able to settle in once we got him the lead.”
Fairmont 12, NRHEG 0
The Panthers kept it close for three innings at Legion Field Friday but were 10-runned by the No. 7 ranked team in the state.
NRHEG had five hits, one each by Prigge, Staloch, VanMaldeghem, Jongbloedt and Bailey.
Lutgens started on the mound and held the Cardinals hitless for three innings before giving up three runs in the fourth and three in the fifth. Fairmont scored six runs off one relief pitcher in the sixth.
“Eli did a nice job of keeping a balanced Fairmont lineup in check the first three innings,” said Paukert. “He started to leave a few balls up in the fifth and Fairmont was able to take advantage of that. Offensively, we didn’t hit the ball well with runners in scoring position. We talked before the game how we thought it was going to be huge for us to score first. Unfortunately, that didn't happen for us tonight.”