Spring Grove did not trail until the bottom of the fifth inning when a walk and a Lion error set the stage for a two-out, two-RBI single by Dane Schara, which created the eventual final score in the 3-1 Lyle/Pacelli win on May 1 at Marcusen Park in Austin.
Photo by Lee Epps
“Caleb Griffin was fantastic on the mound, striking out 11 L/P batters,” said Spring Grove coach Chris Strinmoen. “But the Lions could not generate enough offense, and the defense wasn’t sharp enough in the end.”
Both teams had only three base hits during this pitching duel. The only extra-base hit, an L/P double by Trey Anderson, came in a scoreless inning. All four runs were unearned, thanks to only a few errors and walks. The Lions took advantage of an L/P error to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning with back-to-back singles from Ezra Griffin (RBI) and Brandon Jahnke.
But the Athletics overcame their final five errors because Spring Grove came up with only one more hit during the final six innings. And winning pitcher Isaac Nelsen issued only one free pass, a walk in the fifth inning when there were also two errors. The bases were loaded with only one out, but the Lions left the bases loaded after a quality catch of a line drive by L/P third baseman Jake Truckenmiller and Nelsen’s eighth strikeout.
While the Athletics survived most of their mistakes, the Lions did not. Spring Grove had half as many errors (3) as did L/P (6), but two Lion miscues figured into two L/P runs as did two of only four walks. The defensive play of the day for Spring Grove was a line drive caught at third base by Jahnke.
Defending conference champion Lyle/Pacelli (6-0, 5-0 SEC) remained unbeaten in league play, tied at the top with Southland (6-0, 5-0 SEC), while the Lions (4-2, 4-2 SEC) fell two losses behind both frontrunners. Since Spring Grove revived its stand-alone baseball program in 2016, the Lions have a 6-6 record versus the Athletics.
Lyle/Pacelli also won the B-team game, 9-4.
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SG 1, L/P 3
SG 100 000 0 = 1–3–3
L/P 010 020 x = 3–3–6
LOB: SG 8, L/P 7
Stolen bases: SG 3, L/P 0
SG 3 hits (3 singles): Brandon Jahnke 1-3, Ezra Griffin 1-4, RBI; Elijah Solum 1-4, 2 steals
L/P 3 hits (double, 2 singles)
Pitching SG: Caleb Griffin 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 11 K, 4 W
Pitching L/P: Isaac Nelsen 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 8 K, 1 W
Records: SG 4-2 (4-2 SEC); L/P 6-0 (5-0 SEC)
SG LINEUP: p Caleb Griffin, c Ezra Griffin, 1b Jaxon Strinmoen, 2b Ben Udstuen, ss Nathan Solberg, 3b Brandon Jahnke, lf Zach Brumm, cf Elijah Solum, rf Bryce Berns, dh Logan Brumm, cr Jacob Solum
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Spring Grove Baseball 2023 (SEC games in bold)
>>4-2 (4-2 SEC)
W at GMLOK 15-4
W vs. Houston 10-2
L at Southland 4-5
Fri. 4- 21 (at Austin) Blooming Prairie, canceled
Mon. 4-24 Rushford-Peterson, canceled
W vs. Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 14-4
W vs. GMLOK 6-2
Sat. 4-29 (at Minneapolis) Martin County West, canceled
L at Lyle/Pacelli 1-3
Tues. 5-02 Mabel-Canton
Thur. 5-04 at Mabel-Canton
Fri. 5-05 Lyle/Pacelli
Mon. 5-08 Wabasha-Kellogg
Tues. 5-09 at Houston
Fri. 5-12 Southland
Sat. 5-13 at Rushford Invitational: 10 a.m. vs. Hayfield; noon vs. Goodhue
Tues. 5-16 Kenyon-Wanamingo
Fri. 5-19 Fillmore Central/Lanesboro
Mon. 5-22 at Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons
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B-Team Baseball
>>2 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties
L at Caledonia 4-14
T at GMLOK 3-3
L vs. Houston 3-6
T at Southland 0-0
W vs. Houston 8-5
W vs. GMLOK 4-2
L at Lyle/Pacelli 4-7
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Junior High Baseball
>>3 wins, 5 losses
L vs. Mabel-Canton
L vs. Mabel-Canton
L vs. GMLOK
W vs. GMLOK
L vs. Houston
L vs. Houston
W vs. GMLOK
W vs. GMLOK