The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Maple River Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva barely beat Kenyon-Wanamingo the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Panthers blew past the Knights 12-2 on Thursday. The Panthers have beaten the Knights the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Knights has come to flipping the script.
Owen Wayne made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He is becoming a predictor of New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is 2-1 (and 1-6 when he doesn't). Wayne was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Jace Ihrke
| 05/01/25 vs Kenyon-Wanamingo | 5 |
| 04/11/24 vs United South Central | 2 |
| 04/11/25 vs Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther/Truman | 1 |
| 05/23/24 vs Blue Earth | 1 |
| 04/25/24 @ Hayfield | 1 |
In other batting news, A.J. Deen and Jace Ihrke did most of the damage at the plate: Deen got on base in all four of his plate appearances with two runs, one triple, and two RBI, while Ihrke went 3-for-4 with five RBI, one stolen base, and one run. Those five RBI gave Ihrke a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Carter Martens, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one RBI.
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .571. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Maple River waltzed into their contest on Tuesday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 1-0 W against the Chargers. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Eagles have posted since March 27th.
Not much got past Caleb Thompson, who gave up just four hits to keep Minnesota Valley Lutheran off the board. Thompson has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Maple River's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Wyatt Walters, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Maple River's victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-5. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, their record now sits at 3-7.
New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva might still be hurting after the 15-4 loss they got from Maple River when the teams last played back in May of 2024. Can the Panthers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
