The Lourdes Eagles will take on the Pine Island Panthers at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Lourdes was handed a heart-breaking two-run defeat in their last match, but they sure didn't let that happen against Lake City on Saturday. The Eagles were the clear victors by a 7-1 margin over the Tigers.
Easton Gasner made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching six innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Lourdes is 3-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 1-2 otherwise. Gasner was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI. That home run was his first of the season.
Nicholas Bowron
| 04/14/25 @ St. Charles | 3 |
| 04/26/25 vs Lake City | 2 |
| 04/15/25 @ Kasson-Mantorville | 2 |
| 04/22/25 vs Cannon Falls | 1 |
| 04/21/25 vs Zumbrota-Mazeppa | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nicholas Bowron, who went 1-for-3 with one home run, two runs, and two RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Lourdes' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 1-3 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Brayden Kottschade, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, one run, and one double.
Lourdes lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've posted since back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, Pine Island had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs) and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. Everything went their way against the Rockets as they made off with a 14-4 win. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won five games by nine runs or more so far this season.
Nick Thein was incredible, going 3-for-5 with one home run, three stolen bases, and three runs. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in RBI (four). Luke Sems was another key player, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Lourdes is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 4-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.6 runs on average over those games. As for Pine Island, they pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lourdes has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pine Island struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
