It was a hard fought battle on Tuesday night in Creston for the Atlantic Trojans, who came up just short via walkoff 2-1. Jack Muller was the starting pitcher for Atlantic who went 6.1 innings, striking out four Panthers and allowed just one run on an error. He was pulled in the 7th with a runner on first for Keston Schmidt. Schmidt would allow a walk and the winning hit that scored Creston’s Tanner Ray from second base.
The entirety of the game was defined by the two starting pitchers. Landyn Scherer for Creston and Jack Muller for the Trojans. Scherer went all 7 innings for the Panthers, getting out of a few jams along the way but kept the Trojans at bay for the majority of the ball game. Muller for Atlantic had most of his trouble with the batting order, but only allowed 1 run across 6.1 innings.
Although they only scored 1 run. The Trojans certainly had opportunities to blow it open. Their sole run came in the 4th inning on an RBI single by Zayden Parker that scored Kale Jensen. Although Kale Jensen walked an scored that inning, he came about one foot from a home run that the umpires called foul in a controversial decision. That wasn’t the only time the Trojans almost had a round tripper. Paxton Pross doubled in the third inning that hit halfway up the fence, and Hudson Mclaren had a very similar chance on a double in the 6th. Atlantic seemed like they were just a couple feet away from scoring at least three runs.
“The next run wins” was the feel for most of the ballgame after the Trojans tied it in the 4th. It was the Panthers who were able to get it done in the 7th inning on a single into left field by Gabe Blazek. Creston left 10 on base to Atlantic’s 5 but the last single was all that mattered. Panthers outhit the Trojans 5-4 and won the game 2-1. Despite the loss, Jack Muller had a great the night on the mound. Head Coach Nathan Block spoke on his impact Tuesday night.
Offensively, it was a night of missed opportunities for the Trojans and chances to put more runs across the plate. They left 5 runners on base, with a few being in scoring position:
Though not happy with the result, Coach Block knows that this Trojans team can compete with anyone and has the talent to be in every game:
The Trojans loss drops them to 4-8 on the season. Their next game is at Glenwood on Wednesday night.
