Slew of Charger hits defeats BLH

By JEN SEAVEY

Journal Sports Editor

NEW ULM -- Not only did sophomore Tyler Morgan have three at-bats in the first inning, but he also had three hits, three RBIs and scored twice, leading Minnesota Valley Lutheran to a 21-2 victory over Buffalo Lake-Hector Thursday.

"I felt it in batting practice -- I felt really good," said Morgan, who ended the game 5-5, including two doubles, four RBI's and three scored runs.

"I could tell right away in batting practice, I could tell it was going to be one of those special games," coach Jeff Schoenherr said. "He just stepped up to the plate full of confidence."

According to Morgan, the whole team was confident after beating their first game against Springfield.

"We came out focused," Morgan said. "We came off our win against Springfield and kept it going -- I hope we can do the same thing against St. Mary's."

The Chargers scored 17 runs in the first inning, amassing 17 RBIs and getting through their batting lineup 2 1/2 times before the Mustangs caught two fly balls to get out of the inning.

Winning pitcher Dusty Lendt struck out six and walked one in four innings. Brian Ash pitched the fifth inning for the Chargers, walking one and striking out one. Lendt also scored two runs for the Chargers, going 3-4, including three RBIs and a double.

"Dusty did really well; he kept the ball nice and low," Schoenherr said. "Early in the year, you never know how pitching will come -- he did really well."

Mark Rolloff was also 3-4, including a double and three RBIs, Sam Mielke went 2-4 with two RBIs and David Petersen was 2-3 with two RBIs.

Mustang pitcher Kyle Bruns gave up five walks and 13 hits in the first inning. Jordan Kramer came in to pitch innings two and three, walking two and striking out one, and Tyler Antonsen gave up two walks and four runs in the fourth, striking out one. Combined, they gave up 23 hits.

Guy Hughes had the lone RBI for BL-H, hitting Andrew Wakefield home in the fourth. In the fifth, Josh VanderVoort scored the second run on a passed ball.

Schoenherr was pleased with the Chargers' performance, which brought them to 2-0. MVL hosts St. Mary's today at Johnson Park.

"It was nice to get a couple of games in before facing St. Mary's," he said. "It will be a challenging game -- the kids are playing really confident right now, so we should go out and give them a good game."