By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
All things considered, it was a good first year under NRHEG’s new head baseball coach Shawn Larson.
Coming off an 11-5 campaign in 2023 and four returning seniors expected to carry the load, the bar was set pretty high. A young team could have easily thrown in the towel when they learned no seniors would be returning this spring. In its place this Panther team fought and scrapped its way to an 6-11 record (4-6 conference), earning a home playoff game for the third consecutive year, all while playing a schedule fit for last year’s top-seeded playoff squad.
The Panthers did nearly everything they could to win Thursday night at Jeff and Carol Reese Field, falling 2-1 to Blue Earth.
“This was a good baseball game,” Larson said. “The pitching on both teams was very good, as well as strong defense. It was playoff baseball and they had the timely hit that won for them.”
The runs for Blue Earth came in the first two innings.
A leadoff walk was followed by a ground out, and three consecutive walks issued by sophomore left-hander Jared Lee. He recovered to strike out the final two outs of the inning, leaving the bases full.
A one-out walk in the second was followed by a stolen base and an RBI single from the Buccaneers.
After three innings and four strikeouts, Lee was gassed.
In four innings of relief work, Deven Parpart was nearly flawless, sending the Bucs down 1-2-3, twice. Parpart allowed only one hit and registered four strikeouts.
The Panthers were hitless until freshman Brooks Gilliland registered a sharp single to center in the third. After a sacrifice bunt from Jordan Brouwers, Ryan Schlaak grounded out and Lee struck out looking.
Parpart led off the fourth with a single and made it as far as third base after a stolen base was followed by a passed ball.
In the fifth, the Panthers threatened again. A two-out walk from Schlaak was followed with a sharp single to right by Lee. Rounding third, Schlaak was held up. Just as he put on the brakes, the Buccaneer right fielder bobbled the ball. As he did, Schlaak shuffled back to third. Parpart flew out out to left, stranding two runners and ending the Panthers threat.
The Panther run came off the bats of Alden Dobberstein and Jace Ihrke. Dobberstein led off the sixth with a single and stole his way to third. Ihrke plated him with a fielder's choice.
The Panthers went down 1-2-3 in the final frame.
With the loss, the 2024 season comes to a close for the baseball Panthers. There will be no summer program for varsity-level players. Coach Larson hopes for a decent number of American Legion players next year. The freshmen are playing in a 15U league in Austin. Lee and Owen Wayne will be play on traveling teams.
For the Buccaneers, their season continued with the second round of the Section 2AA tournament with a matchup Tuesday night against Le Sueur-Henderson..
Teams remaining alive in the Section 2AA playoffs include 1-seed LSH; 2-seed Belle Plaine; 3-seed Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial; 4-seed Sibley East; 5-seed Maple River; 6-seed Tri-City United; 9-seed Blue Earth; and 10-seed Waseca.
Teams eliminated after the first round were: 7-seed Triton; 8-seed NRHEG; 11-seed WEM; 12-seed Medford; and 13-seed St. Clair.