BYRON -- When Steve Seykora led off Blooming Prairie's baseball season with a home run in their first at-bat, things were looking bright for the Blossoms. But when the sun finally came out, Byron had pulled off an impressive comeback.

The Bears broke through the win column with eight unanswered runs, overcoming Blooming Prairie's 8-1 lead through two-and-a-half innings for a 9-8, eight-inning victory Monday in Byron.

Seykora hit one of three BP home runs, but Byron countered with two of their own with the wind at the batters' backs. David Kramer's three-run homer highlighted the Blossoms' six-run second inning, and freshman catcher Tom Farr led off the third with a solo shot to give BPHS an 8-1 lead.

The Blossoms chased starting pitcher Travis O'Brien from the hill in 1 1/3 innings, but reliever Matt Storlie went 5 2/3 innings of three-hit relief. Two of the hits, however, were home runs by Kramer and Farr.

BP starting pitcher Aaron McDonald and Seykora each threw four innings, with Seykora suffering the loss in the eighth. Byron's Adam Schroeder, who hit a three-run homer to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth, reached with a one-out double to put the Bears in business in the eighth. Storlie was intentionally walked, but a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position.

Jake Daniels' flyout to center field was too shallow to score the run, but Eric Kruger's infield single was just enough to drive in the game-winning run. His dribbler towards second was fielded by first baseman Kraig Olson, but the flip to a sprawling Seykora was not in time to get the out at first.

Five of Byron's 12 hits went for extra bases, while half of Blooming Prairie's six hits were home runs. Seykora led the Blossoms offensively with a 2-for-4 plate performance, driving in two runs and scoring once. Kramer reached base in 3-of-4 at bats, including his three-run homer.

Byron reliever Jeremy Erdmann faced seven batters over the final two innings, walking one and striking out the other six with a fastball pushing 80 miles per hour. He also was one of three Bears with multiple hits, joining Adam Linbo and Schroeder with two each.

Blooming Prairie, now 0-1 overall, continues its road trip with a visit to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown -- the defending Gopher Conference champion -- today at 4:30 p.m.

Call Ross Thede at 434-2234 or e-mail him at :mailto:sports@austindailyherald.com.