The Austin baseball team (2-7 overall, 1-7 Big Nine) dropped two straight games to Owatonna (6-0 Big Nine) on the road Thursday by scores of 11-1 and 7-5.

In the 7-5 loss, the Packers had some tough breaks in the fourth inning as Owatonna mounted a two-out rally that was aided by a dropped fly ball by Austin that led to two of the four runs scored in the frame.

The inning started with two straight outs before an Owatonna hitter beat out an infield hit.

“It looked like a routine play, but the guy was really fast,” Austin head coach Troy Watkins said. “After that, we really hurt ourselves and we’ve got to make plays. We were competitive in the second game, but we were just a few plays short.”

Nate Wagner gave the Austin offense a lift in the third inning with a two-run homer to help the Packers tie the game at 3, but it wasn’t enough.

Junior pitcher Dylan Monson made his first start of the season in the second game. He went all seven innings, allowing nine hits, four walks, and four earned runs, while striking out two.

“It was good to see Dylan throwing well and our I’m seeing signs that are bats are coming alive,” Watkins said.

The first game saw the Huskies knock out Austin starter John Kirby and run away with a 10-run win.

Owatonna 11, Austin 1

1 2 3 4 5 R H E

Austin 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 2

Owatonna1 4 2 4 X 11 11 1

Austin pitching: John Kirby (L), 3 2/3 IP, 11 H, 6 BB, 11 R, 7 ER, 1 K; Brady Klingfus, 1/3 IP

Austin hitting: John Kirby, 2-of-2, R

Owatonna 7, Austin 5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

Owatonna2 1 0 4 0 0 0 7 9 2

Austin 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 5 8 2

Austin pitching: Dylan Monson (L), 7 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 K

Austin hitting: Nate Wagner, 2-of-4, HR, 2 RBIs; Adam Hemman, 2-of-4; Nate Justice, 1-of-2, double, 2 R; Mark Harber, 1-of-4, double; Steven Rizzi, 1-of-4, RBI; John Kirby, 1-of-3, RBI