FARIBAULT — For Faribault it was the inning that never seemed to end. For Century it was all the Panthers needed to secure a Big Nine Conference baseball win Tuesday night.
Century scored all of its runs in the fourth inning and beat Faribault 14-8, giving the Panthers a sweep in the season series between the teams.
Century batted around twice in the fourth inning, sending 18 batters to the plate and knocking Faribault starting pitcher Jack Helgeson out of the game. Four Century players had multiple RBIs in the rally, John Meyer, Eric Sherden, Matt Pearson and Josh Benson.
Von Praska went 4-for-4 to lead Century's 17-hit attack, and Michael Hartman was 3-for-5.
For Faribault, Riley Schultz belted two home runs and drove in four runs, and Kyle Murphy was 3-for-5.
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It was the second straight win for Century, now 8-7 overall and in the conference. It was the 12th straight loss for Faribault, now 2-13 overall and 2-11 in the Big Nine.
Century plays John Marshall in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday at Mayo Field.
Century 14, Faribault 8
Century .......#000#(14)00#0#—#14#17#1
Faribault .....#320#010#2#—#8#9#4
Century:Matt Pearson 1-for-4, 2 RBIs; Michael Hartman 3-for-5, 1 RBI; Jordan Martini 2-for-5, 1 RBI; Von Praska 4-for-4, 1 RBI; Eric Sherden 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Mitch Gade 2-for-3; John Meyer 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs. WP: Andrew Plevak 1/3 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 1 K.
Faribault:Kyle Murphy 3-for-5, 2B; Riley Schultz 3-for-4, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBIs. LP: Jack Helgeson 31/3 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 4 BB, 3 K.
MAYO 3-6, OWATONNA 2-7
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Spartans split doubleheader
Rochester Mayo got solid pitching and just enough offense to earn a split in a Big Nine Conference baseball doubleheader against Owatonna on Tuesday.
Mayo won the opener 3-2, and Owatonna came back to win the nightcap, 7-6.
In the first game, Steve Serratore hit a two-run homer in the third to put Mayo ahead 2-1. Owatonna tied it with an unearned run in the fifth inning. Matt Stubbs hit a long solo homerun in the bottom of the fifth inning for the eventual winning run.
"Brandon Zywicki pitched a solid game," coach Dan Hoefs said, "and he started a big 1-6-3 double play in the fourth to avoid trouble."
Mayo fell behind 7-0 in the first three innings of the second game thanks in large part to five errors. "Tyler Essig and Rannon Arch each threw two scoreless innings in relief as we crawled back into the game," Hoefs reported.
Mayo had the tying run on third when a strikeout ended the game. Ben O'Reilly hit a two-run homer in the fifth.
Owatonna improved to 12-6 overall and 12-4 in the conference. The Huskies can clinch the Big Nine title Friday at home in a doubleheader against Albert Lea, which is 11-4 in the conference.
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Mayo's record is 10-8, 9-7 in the Big Nine. Mayo is at Faribault for a single game on Saturday.
Mayo 3, Owatonna 2
First game
Owatonna 001#010#0#—#2#7#1
Mayo 002#010#x#—#3#8#3
Simon 1-for-3; Paul Satterlund 1-for-3; Tyler Smith 1-for-1. LP: Tyler Smith 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
Mayo:Rannon Arch 1-for-3; Evan Morris 1-for-3; Jordan Ziegler 1-for-3; Lance Dozier 1-for-3, 1 2B; Tyler Essig 1-for-3; Matt Stubbs 1-for-1, 1 HR, 1 RBIs; Steve Serratore 2-for-3, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs.
Owatonna 7, Mayo 6
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Second game
Owatonna 232#000#0#—#7#6#2
Mayo 000#140#1#—#6#7#5
Owatonna:Sherdan Skala 1-for-1; Zappa 1-for-3; Quinn Christenson 1-for-3, 2 RBIs; Matt Simon 1-for-3, 1 HR, 1 RBIs; Paul Satterlund 1-for-4, 1 RBIs; WP: Quinn Christianson 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 K; D. Homier 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K;
Mayo:Rannon Arch 1-for-4, 1 2B; Ben O’Reilly 3-for-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 1 SB; Jordan Ziegler 2-for-2, 1 2B; Steve Serratore 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBIs; Rannon Arch 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K; LP: Ben O’Reilly 3 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 1 K; Tyler Essig 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K;
