Pinnacle Bank Senior Horns off to 2-0 start

    Legion baseball kicked off its busy summer of ball with the Pinnacle Bank Horns hosting Hershland and Holdrege.
    The junior and senior legion teams started practice March 30 and Head Coach Bruce Peterson said everyone was ready to get started.
    The Horns started with a bang last Thursday against Hershland.
    The juniors opened the night with a three-inning 15-0 win.
    Noah Rau only gave up two hits in his first Legion game. The Horns limited Hershland to four baserunners in the game, with one batter reaching base on Imperial’s only error.
    On offense, the juniors used aggressive baserunning to jump on Hershland early.
    Camron Lempke was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first and Thomas Reeves singled to left field. Both stole bases and took advantage of the Trojans’ errors to come around to score.
    The Horns rallied with two outs to score seven-straight runs Imperial had five hits and three walks in the inning.
    The game ended with five runs by the juniors in the third inning after two errors Hershland errors.
    Reeves finished 3-3 with three RBIs. Lempke was 2-2 and George Colton had three RBIs.
    Rau struck out three and walked one.
    Peterson said Hershland is going to be one of the weaker teams Imperial plays, but it was a good opportunity for Rau to get his first legion start and he did great.
    “He’s going to be a solid part of our pitching staff for the entire season,” Peterson added.
    The seniors kept up that momentum behind starting pitcher Colin O’Neil.
    Thee Horns set Hershland down in order in four of the Trojans’ five at bats. Hershland’s lone run in the game came off a walk and two errors in the fourth inning.
    The top of the order, Tysen Lempke and Reeves, were both productive. Lempke reached base and scored twice. Reeves had three hits, including the season’s first home run, and drove in five.
    Cleanup hitter Mason Wallin was also prolific, reaching base on a walk, error and single then scoring three runs.
    O’Neil didn’t allow a hit, while walking two and striking out five. Cooper Dillan came in on relief, striking out five, walking two and giving up one hit.
     Saturday the juniors had seven errors in a 1-6 loss to Holdrege.
    Peterson said Holdrege has been tough against the Horns every year and chose to put Jaret Peterson on the mound.
    The visitors came out swinging, ripping three-straight singles off J. Peterson to begin the game.
    Trailing 0-3, Tristan Jablonski walked and scored on back-to-back errors by Holdrege.
    Holdrege took advantage of an Imperial error in the second to maintain a three-run lead.
    Both teams were quiet offensively over the next three innings and let opportunities pass them by. Peterson struck out 13 batters over five innings to help keep the Horns in the game.
    The sixth inning got away from Imperial, despite two strike outs by C. Lempke who came in on relief. Two errors allowed two runs to score and seal the Horns’ 1-6 loss.
    The juniors only had three hits in the game.
    J. Peterson gave up six hits and one walk, while C. Lempke struck out five and walked one.
    Peterson said J. Peterson pitched well and C. Lempke finished the game nicely..
    “However, seven errors and the fact that we weren’t hitting kept us behind the entire time. Mostly, we just came out dead on Saturday against Holdrege. On a normal day, we overcome those three runs right away and move forward,” Peterson added.
    Wallin, starting pitcher for the senior Horns, set the tone early by striking out Holdrege’s first three batters then giving himself some breathing room with a two-run dinger.
    Both teams stayed quiet offensively through the middle innings. Holdrege stranded three baserunners in the game compared to four left on for Imperial.
    The Horns ended the game with a seven-run sixth inning as Holdrege pitching broke down. Imperial set the table with walks, errors and pass balls to score four-straight runs. With two outs, the game ended 9-0 on a two-run homer by J. Peterson.
    “The seniors are playing with a lot of confidence right now. Colin complete shut down Hershland and Mason looked like a veteran pitcher against Holdrege, even though he hasn’t pitched in games a lot,” Peterson said, adding, Holdrege gave the Horns a few free baserunners and then J. Peterson came out of his slump with a home run to walk it off by run rule.
    Wallin only gave up one hit in the game and struck out 10 and walked two.
    Reeves had three RBIs and J. Peterson and Wallin each had two.
    The Horns were scheduled to be in Lexington Sunday, but area storms led the those game’s postponement.
    Tuesday both teams traveled to Gothenburg.
    The teams will play junior/senior doubleheaders against Ogallala at home Thursday, as well as hosting Lexington Sunday and McCook Tuesday.
    The Juniors’ B team will play a doubleheader at Ogallala Wednesday.