Austin Packers baseball team holds off Owatonna 10-7 Tuesday
The Austin Packers baseball team traveled to Dartts Park in Owatonna for a Big 9 Conference tilt with the Huskies Tuesday, and in a game that saw the Packers take a 10-0 lead, the squad was able to withstand 16 walks issued by their pitching staff and a furious rally late in the game from the Huskies with great defensive plays and key strikeouts to hang on for a 10-7 win.
The Packers jumped on Huskies starting pitcher Mitch Seykora with four runs in the top of the first and three more in the second on a total of eight hits to take an early 7-0 lead, only to see Owatonna rally back with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and one in the fifth to trim the Austin lead to 7-6. The Packer offense then answered with three critical runs in the top of the sixth off of releiver Connor Wiese to take a 10-6 lead, and although the Huskies added another run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 10-7, Isaiah Conway and the Packers defense shut the door from there for the win.
Offensively for the Packers, who rapped out 13 hits in the game, senior captains Peyton Ransom and Dakota Retterath led the way by both going 3 for 4 with three RBI’s apiece, Hadyn Quitmeyer was 2 for 4 for the game with a double, two RBI’s, a run scored and a stolen base, and Isaac Osgood was also 2 for 4 with three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Ransom got the start on the mound for Austin and went the first four innings, giving up four runs, one earned, on five hits, striking out three and walking seven. Noah Dunlap then took the mound in the bottom of the fifth and gave up one earned run with no strikeouts and two walks before giving way to Conway, who went the last three innings for the win as he gave up one earned run on one hit, walking seven but striking out two.
The Packers are out to a 2-1 start for the young 2024 season, and they return to action for a doubleheader at Dick Seltz Field Saturday versus Red Wing, with game one of two getting underway at 12:00 p.m.
