Baseball Recap: Ortonville Takes a Loss

Ortonville extended their losing streak to three on Thursday, dropping their season record down to 3-7 in the process. They came up short against the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers, falling 11-1. The Trojans were not able to make up for their defeat to the Panthers from their previous meeting back in May of 2024.

As for Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season. The team dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 8.7 runs.

For Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's part, Connor Lanoue was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Lanoue also tossed two walks, which is notable because Tracy-Milroy-Balaton is undefeated when he allows at most two walks, but 5-6 otherwise. Lanoue was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two runs.

In other batting news, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton let Noah Knakmuhs and Griffin Zick run wild. Knakmuhs went a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI, while Zick went 1-for-3 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. Knakmuhs is becoming a predictor of Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's success: when he posts at least three hits the team is undefeated (and 5-6 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was David Schuh, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Ortonville will take on Ashby at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Arrows have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 10.21 runs per game on average), something the Trojans will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, they will challenge Canby at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.