Hard throwers overpower St. Croix Central baseball team

• Alex Adkins

St. Croix Central’s Alex Adkins was tagged out on this close play at the plate in the fourth inning of the Panthers’ loss to Elk Mound on Monday.

Talk about it

Two overpowering pitchers led top Dunn-St. Croix Conference contenders past the St. Croix Central baseball team in its most recent games.

On Monday the Panthers struck out 10 times in a 5-1 loss to Elk Mound. The Panthers went down swinging 11 times last Thursday in a five-inning 12-1 loss to Boyceville.

Boyceville’s Ryan Bloom mowed down the Panthers Thursday. Central scored once in the first inning after a single by Alex Adkins. Adkins stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout. That would be Central’s only hit of the game.

Elk Mound’s Garett Phillips was a surprise on Monday. Phillips is small, but he pitched with plenty of pop. The Panthers were able to put together four hits on Monday.

The only Panther run was scored in the fourth inning after the Panthers were held without a baserunner in the opening three innings. Adam Lewis led off the fourth with a single and he scored on Alex Adkins’ double to the leftfield gap. Adkins tried to score from third base after an Elk Mound overthrow, but was called out on a close play at the plate.

Tyler Lathe got the starting assignment in both games for the Panthers. Thursday’s game did not go well for Lathe. He gave up several hits in the first inning and they were compounded by several errors, helping Boyceville score four runs in the first.

Central coach Jason Koele pulled Lathe with two outs in the first and Isaiah Krogseng pitched the rest of the game. This was the first pitching appearance for Krogseng this season and he worked two strong innings before Boyceville rallied for eight runs in the fourth inning.

Lathe pitched better on Monday, working his first complete game of the season. Lathe struggled early with his breaking ball, which was coming up short of the plate. The Panther coaches have been working with Lathe on this pitch. Later in the game Lathe began to find his form and had several sharp breaking pitches that froze Mounder hitters.

The Panthers have games each of the next four weekdays. They host Elmwood on Thursday, before playing at Colfax on Friday. Next week starts with two road games, at Glenwood City on Monday and at St. Croix Falls on Tuesday.

Tags: sports, panthers, baseball, prep