BLOOMING PRAIRIE — The Lyle-Pacelli baseball team has been waiting a long time to beat Blooming Prairie and that time finally came on Tuesday.

The Athletics scored nine runs in the top of the seventh inning to break open a two-run game as they beat the Awesome Blossoms 16-7 in BP.

LP pitcher Daniel Bollingberg struck out nine in seven innings and he went 3-for-5 with two RBIs.

“Ever since I’ve been on varsity we’ve always had the conference wins, but the section wins have come hard,” Bollingberg said. “We’ve got a good team this year and I think it’s going to be different when it comes to the playoffs.”

Bollingberg faced a jam in the fourth inning with his team leading 5-4. The Blossoms had two runners on with one out and Bollingberg struck out back to back hitters to get out of the jam. LP committed three errors in the fourth inning.

“You’ve just got to keep throwing strikes and forget about it,” Bollingberg said.

Jordan Hart continued to make a big impact at the plate for the Athletics (4-0 overall) as went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs. Hart now has 19 RBIs in just four games.

“Our bats woke up and that really helped out. They’re a good team and it’s really good to beat them,” Hart said. “I just go up there thinking I don’t need to jack every one. I just need to get it in play and hopefully it will help us out.”

LP led 7-5 going into the seventh when they put together a big rally. The Athletics tallied six hits before they recorded an out in the seventh as they walked away with the win. LP will play three more section games this week and Athletics head coach Brock Meyer said each of those games will be important.

“This is pretty much a snap shot of our season and it will probably determine where we’re seeded,” Meyer said.

LP has received a boost this season from Matt Kasel, who is back on the baseball team after not playing since his freshman year. Kasel, who went 2-for-2 against BP (2-4 overall) had a diving catch in center and he also came up with a sacrifice fly that put LP up 6-4 in the sixth.

“It’s nice to have somebody in the four hole that can drive the ball a little bit and he plays good center field,” Meyer said of Kasel. “That’s what we need.”

Kasel said he’s had a good time playing baseball again and he couldn’t believe how fast his swing came back to him.

“‘I’ve surprised myself this season. It’s going so well and I hope it keeps rolling,” Kasel said. “It’s been a lot of fun and it’s nice to actually get to win. This was a big win today. I played as an eighth grade and I can never remember beating [BP]. It felt different than our first few games. Guys were a little more serious and a little more uptight, but whenever we have Daniel on the mound we’ve got confidence.”

The Blossoms have struggled with allowing the big inning all season and Tuesday was no different as they struggled in the seventh. BP head coach Paul Peterson was quick to give credit to Bollingberg.

“Our guys battled and that pitcher was tough. He’s the best pitcher we’ve seen so far this year,” Peterson said.

LP 0 0 3 2 0 2 9 — 16 18 5

BP 0 0 1 3 0 1 2 — 7 7 2

LP pitching: Daniel Bollingberg (W), 7 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 7 R, 4 ER, 9 K

LP hitting: Bollingberg, 3-for-5, 2 RBIs, R, SB; Jordan Cotter, 1-for-3, 3 R, 2 BBs; Jordan Hart, 4-for-5, HR, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, SB, 4 R; Matt Kasel, 2-for-2, RBI, R, 2 BBs, HBP; Kevin Juenger, 3-for-5, 3 RBIs, R; Lucas Klabunde, 1-for-3, 2 RBIs; Braden Kocer, 1-for-4, 2 R; Shayan Qureshi, 0-for-2, BB; Patrick Muprhy, 0-for-1, R, BB

BP pitching: Ryan Doerhoefer (L) 6 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 9 ER, 3 K; Scott Romeo, 0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 ER, 1 HBP; Riley Olson, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 K

BP hitting: Hunter Rudlong, 2-for-4, triple, RBI, R; Sam Swenson, 0-for-4, R; Weston Fiebiger, 0-for-2, R, BB; John Rumpza, 2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs, R; Doerhoefer, 0-for-3; Romeo, 1-for-4, RBI, R; Olson, 1-for-2, 2 BBs; Matt Worke, 1-for-3, RBI, R; Zach Reynolds, 0-for-3; Tyler Ferguson, 0-for-1; Ethan Strunk, 0-for-1