Pinnacle Bank Juniors win Area 7 tournament

    The Imperial Pinnacle Bank Junior Horns had nothing to lose at the Class C Area 7 tournament.
    With their state berth locked in with their hosting duties, the Horns claimed the championship with dominating wins over Sheridan County and Valentine in Hershey and Sutherland.
    Imperial started off the tournament Friday with a shutout of Sheridan County.
    The Horns allowed the Regulators to load the bases in the first inning, but didn’t give up a run. Imperial would limit Sheridan County to only three more baserunners over the final four innings.
    Thomas Reeves led off for the Horns and scored. Imperial missed its chance to do more damage by stranding runners on second and third.
    As Sheridan County’s young pitchers struggled in the game, Imperial steadily increased its lead. The Horns had a one-run second inning, then broke free for four runs in the third inning behind three singles and two walks.
    Imperial missed its chance to end the game with a scoreless fourth inning. Reeves singled to start the fifth inning and stole three-straight bases, including home, to finish off the 8-0 win.
    Jaret Peterson pitched three innings, walking four, striking out eight and giving up one hit, before Camron Lempke came on in relief. Lempke pitched the final two innings and struck out four while walking one.
    The win advanced the Horns into the semifinals against Valentine. Third-seeded Valentine beat the second-seeded hosts, Hershland, in their first round game.
    Imperial took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and gave pitcher Noah Rau some breathing room. Rau pitched four innings of shut out ball before giving up two runs in the fifth inning. Rau only gave up three hits in the game. He walked two batters and struck out four.
    Lempke singled in the first inning and stole two bases to put himself in position to score on an error.
    The Horns batted through the order in the second inning. Two walks and two singles score two runs and set the table for a two-RBI triple by Lempke.
    Imperial’s offense settled down over the course of the third and fourth innings but responded to Valentines two runs  with a four-run fifth inning that ended the game.
    Gavin Wisnieski and Tristan Jablonski had base hits and advanced on a dropped third strike by Carson Terryberry. All three would come around to score, as would George Colton who crossed home plate thanks to a walk off double by Reeves.
    Besides Reeves, Wisnieski and Jablonski  also doubled in the contest. Reeves and Lempke each had three RBIs.
    Imperial had Sunday off as Valentine advanced to the championship game with its second win over Hershland.
    Peterson was back on the mound and retired the first 12 batters he faced.
    The Horns’ offense backed him up, starting with a run by Reeves in the first inning.
    After Reeves singled to lead off the third inning, Peterson helped his own cause with an RBI single. Tristan Jablonski added his own RBI single in the inning to boost the Horns’ lead to 3-0.
    Evan O’Neil walked and scored on a double by Reeves in the third inning. Jablonski led off the fourth with a single then scored on an error during O’Neil’s at bat.
    Imperial brought the hammer down in the sixth inning. Lempke was hit by a pitch to reach base. Back-to-back ground outs brought him home. But with two outs, the Horns still weren’t done. Jablonski walked and scored on a double by Carson Terryberry. A single by George Colton scored Terryberry.
    The Horns fought off Valentine in the bottom of the sixth. Two Imperial errors got Valentine on the board with two runs, but the Horns bounced back with a double play and ground out to end the inning.
    Even thought Imperial wasn’t able to increase its 8-2 lead in the seventh inning, Peterson slammed the door in Valentine’s faces with three-straight strikeouts to end the game.
    Reeves was 3-4 at the plate and scored twice. Jablonski had two hits and also scored twice.
    Peterson finished the game with a one-hitter. Peterson also struck out 12 and walked three batters.
    Valentine, as the Area 7 runner up, also qualified for state.
State begins Saturday
    Months of preparation will be on display Saturday when games the Class C Junior Legion State Tournament begins.
    Area 7 was the first district tournament to end.
    Horns Head Coach Bruce Peterson said, on one hand, the early finish to the Area 7 tournament means he’ll have a rested pitching staff heading into state.
    On the other hand, Peterson said his team will need to practice throughout the week to stay sharp without any games.
    All other tournaments wrapped up Tuesday night, with the exception of Area 5 which finished Wednesday evening.
    The state tournament will begin Saturday in Imperial. Games will start at 10 a.m. then run every three hours at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Imperial will play in the 7 p.m. game that evening.
    Peterson said it’s natural for players to have some nerves for any state games.
     For his Horns, that goes along with a lot of excitement and possibly a little added pressure of playing at home.
    Peterson has a plan for the upcoming tournament.
    “It’ll be great to be at home, but I’m going to mix in some activities to make sure it’s still a typical state tournament experience for them.”
    Four games will play Sunday, then three Monday, two Tuesday and the championship game Wednesday.