B-T baseball team splits with Thunder, Hornets

The Blair-Taylor baseball team won a shutout last week, but struggled to stop its opponent later in the week.

The Wildcats pulled away from Osseo-Fairchild late for a 9-0 win last Tuesday. On Thursday, however, the team struggled defensively in an 11-5 loss to Alma Center Lincoln. 

B-T (3-2-1) got another crack at AC Lincoln on Tuesday when they hosted the Hornets. On Thursday, the Wildcats are set to play at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau before welcoming Whitehall on Friday. Next week will be busy as B-T plays at Caledonia on Monday, Independence/Gilmanton on Tuesday, and Pepin/Alma on Friday. 

B-T 9 O-F 0

The Wildcats got another strong performance from ace Brady Thompson in the shutout win.

Thompson struck out eight while holding the Thunder to three hits and one walk as he pitched into the seventh inning. Colby Dahl got the final two outs in the win.

B-T took an early lead when Austin Olson scored on a wild pitch and Payton Kelly came home on an error in the first inning. Another run scored on a walk with the bases loaded in the second.

The score remained 3-0 until the top of the sixth when Kelly singled two runs home. Two more runs scored on walks with the bases loaded, then Kale Knutson hit a two-run single.

The Wildcats had just four hits in the game, three by Knutson. The team showed patience at the plate, earning 15 walks. 

AC Lincoln 11 B-T 5

The Wildcats committed five errors, leading to six unearned runs in the loss.

The Hornets stung B-T early with three runs in the second and third innings to take a 6-2 lead. The Wildcats stayed in the game as Austin Olson hit a two-run single in the fourth and Kale Knutson’s RBI single in the sixth brought the team within one.

But the comeback attempt was thwarted in the sixth when the Hornets put up five runs. B-T was one out away from getting out of a bases-loaded jam, but an error — B-T’s second of the inning — allowed three runs to score. The Hornets added two more on an RBI single to go ahead by the final score. 

Matthew Beck had two of B-T’s seven hits and also drove in a run. Olson had two RBIs while Kole Trapp and Knutson also batted runs in. 

Ty Tranberg took the loss, though six of the 10 runs on his tally were unearned. He struck out five batters, while allowing nine hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. Beau Trapp got the final out in the sixth after Tranberg reached his pitch limit.