Austin’s bats fall silent in opening loss to Stewartville
Published 10:20 pm Tuesday, April 4, 2017
- Austin’s Hunter Guyette makes contact against Stewartville in Dick Seltz Field Tuesday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
The Austin baseball team was sharp in three phases of the game in its season opener, but it wasn’t able to create enough offense as it lost 1-0 to Stewartville in Dick Seltz Field Tuesday.
The Packers (0-1 overall) mustered just two hits in the loss and they weren’t able to knock in the game-tying run in the seventh inning when they had runners at the corners with one out. Stewartville’s Taylor Hagstrom picked up the shutout win as he scattered two hits and three walks.
“It would be one thing if were able to hit one of his pitches and be able to sit on that pitch, but we weren’t able to hit his fast ball or his curve ball,” Austin head coach Joe Kroc said.
Austin’s Forrest Lewis takes off for first base as a wild pitch gets past Brady Herman against Stewartville in Dick Seltz Field Tuesday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Austin junior Josi Bothun kept the Packers in the game as he allowed just two hits and he struck out eight in six innings. The Tigers (1-0 overall) took the lead for good in the sixth when Adam Koenigs came up with a two-out, RBI single.
Bothun had pitched five innings of no-hit baseball before Stewartville’s Andrew Simmons led off the sixth with a double.
“Josi is Mr. consistent,” Kroc said. “He throws strikes, he hits spots, he mixes pitches well and that’s what we expected. He definitely delivered. He’s a battler, he’s a gamer and that’s why he started game one.”
The Packers only struck out three times in the loss, but they had trouble making solid contact. Ross Young and Hunter Guyette each singled for Austin.
Kroc said the team has to learn to focus on trying to get on base instead of trying to make big hits.
Austin’s Josi Bothun pitches against Stewartville in Dick Seltz Field Tuesday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
“The most disappointing thing is we became a team offensively that we’re not,” Kroc said. “Obviously pitchers are going to be ahead of hitters early in the spring, but we don’t have gap-to-gap guys and we’re going to have to play with line drives and small ball. We had too many guys trying to hit it over the left fence instead of trying to drop a single.”
Stewartville 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 2 1
Austin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 1
Austin pitching: Josi Bothun (W) 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 8 K; Jack Dankert 1 IP, 0 R, 2 K
Austin hitting: Dankert, 0-for-3; Forrest Lewis, 0-for-2, BB; Hunter Guyette, 1-for-3; Phillip Zynda, 0-for-1, BB; Ross Young, 1-for-2, 2 SB, BB; Bothun, 0-for-3; Pete Conner, 0-for-2; Tanner Steene, 0-for-1; Riley Wempner, 0-for-2; Evan Horstmann, 0-for-1
