Seniors, Riley Schultz, Kordell Schlaak, and Nick Staloch.
It’s clear the NRHEG baseball team wanted its season to last as long as possible.
But it's finally finished.
The Panthers, seeded 12th in the Section 2AA tournament and who hadn’t won a playoff game since 2016, lost 13-3 in five innings to No. 4 seed Sibley East Monday, June 7 at Gaylord, ending an impressive post-season run.
The Panthers stayed alive in the double-elimination tournament last week, upsetting Medford and Blue Earth Area after being blanked 8-0 at Sibley East.
It was a rough outing Monday at Gaylord, where the Panthers managed only three hits - one each by Kordell Schlaak, Alex Dobberstein and Nick Staloch - off Sibley East's pitcher, who threw a complete game. Daxter Lee scored twice.
The Panthers used three hurlers. Lee started and surrendered seven earned runs on six hits, with three strikeouts and nine walks. Clay Stenzel and Staloch threw in relief.
Nothing came easy for the Panthers Tuesday, June 3 as they lost their first game of the tournament to Sibley East.
Lee and George Roesler had NRHEG’s lone hits. Schlaak started on the mound and lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and four walks.
The Panthers bounced back to upset No. 8 seed Medford 4-0 Thursday, June 3.
Lee was brilliant on the mound, giving up only one hit while striking out 13 and walking two.
The Panthers pecked away offensively, scoring once each in the first, fourth, fifth and seventh innings.
Andrew Phillips went 2-4, Schlaak 2-3. Adding one hit each were Staloch, Stenzel, Ben Schoenrock and Roesler.
Again heavy underdogs, the Panthers traveled to Blue Earth on a sweltering Saturday, June 5 and came home with a 5-2 triumph over the second-seeded Buccaneers.
The Panthers stole the lead late in the game, breaking a 2-2 tie when Schoenrock singled on a 1-2 count, scoring one run. Phillips, 2-4 for the day, tripled and drove in a run. Roesler also had two hits. Adding one each were Schlaak, Staloch, Sam Olson and Schoenrock.
Schlaak pitched a complete game for the Panthers, allowing two earned runs on four hits, with a walk and a strikeout.
NRHEG opened the tournament with a 7-3 upset of fifth-seeded Minnesota Valley Lutheran at New Ulm May 29.
Sibley East went on to lose 7-1 to sixth-seeded Cannon Falls, which will face No. 1 Belle Plaine at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 12 at Gaylord for the section championship. A second game, if necessary, would follow. Belle Plaine needs to win one of the games to advance to state. Cannon Falls would need to win both.
The Panthers were coached this season by Mark Lee.