The Austin Packers are taking a road trip to face off against the Kasson-Mantorville Komets at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Austin hasn't scored more than a single run for three games straight, a trend the squad is eager to reverse.
Austin fell victim to Mankato West and their airtight pitching crew on Saturday. They came up short against the Scarlets, falling 7-0.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Kasson-Mantorville). They blew past Pine City 14-4 on Friday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Komets considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Jace Craft and Drew Fredrickson made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, Craft tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Fredrickson pitched four innings while giving up four earned runs off only two hits. Craft also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Kasson-Mantorville is 2-1 when he allows at most three earned runs, but 6-7 otherwise. At the plate, Craft got on base in all five of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI, while Fredrickson went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double. The dominant performance also gave Craft a new career-high in hits (three).
In other batting news, Brooks Irish was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs. Kasson-Mantorville is 4-1 when Irish posts two or more stolen bases, but 4-7 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Holden Bolster, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Kasson-Mantorville always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .585. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
The victory got Kasson-Mantorville back to even at 8-8. As for Austin, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-11.
Austin couldn't quite get it done against Kasson-Mantorville in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 as they fell 7-3. Can the Packers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
