The Austin baseball team bounced back from a slow start, but it ended up on the short end of a 9-7 score to Owatonna in Seltz Field Tuesday.

The Packers (7-8 overall) scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 7-6 lead when Jason Stoulil knocked in two runs with a single to tie the game and Forest Lewis knocked in a run to give Austin the lead.

Owatonna (10-6 overall) tied the game at 7-7 on a sacrifice fly in the sixth and it took a two-run lead when it had four straight runners reach base with two outs in the in the seventh.

Austin had runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the seventh and it had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, but it couldn’t plate a run in either frame.

“It told the boys that this isn’t a game I’m upset with,” Austin head coach Chris Gogolewski said. “It’s disappointing with the loss, but we played good, solid baseball. You can take away a lot of good things with a game like today.”

The Huskies plated six runs in the top of the first, but Austin pitcher Alex Ciola stepped up as he shut down Owatonna over the next four innings.

“It’s nice that he battled back and he showed that he’s not going to roll over and give up,” Gogolewski said of Ciola. “The boys battled back at the plate too.”

Owatonna 6 0 0 0 0 1 2 — 9 7 3

Austin 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 — 7 9 1

Austin pitching: Alex Ciola, 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 K, 4 HBP; Jason Stoulil, 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R; Jack Dankert (L) 1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 1 K

Austin hitting: Nate Conner, 1-for-3, R, 2 BBs; Ryan McCormack, 0-for-1, BB; Phillip Zynda, 1-for-3, R, BB; Ciola, 2-for-3, RBI, R, BB; Jakob Crouch, 0-for-4, R, SB; Jason Stoulil, 1-for-3, 2 RBIs, R, BB; Tristan Bauer, 1-for-3, R, BB; Forest Lewis, 1-for-2, RBI; Dankert, 2-for-4, double, RBI, R