The Glenwood-Lowry Legion baseball team won four-of-five games last week to win the “Final Four” of the West Central Sub-State, Division II Legion Baseball Tournament.  The Lakers beat Parkers Prairie last Monday and Thursday before winning two-of-three over Kerkhoven during the weekend.  Glenwood-Lowry will now play in the State Division II Legion Baseball Tourney, set for July 28-30 at Roseau.  

Glenwood-Lowry, coached by Joe Alexander, Jeff Panitzke and Paul Johnson, goes into the state tourney with a 19-6 record after winning 17 of its last 20 games.

Roseau is not only the host of the 8-team, double-elimination tourney, but will also be one of the competing teams.  This will be the second state trip in the last three years for the Legion team, which also earned a state berth in 2021.  Glenwood-Lowry is set to face the winner of the Northeast Sub-State at 10 a.m., Friday, July 28 with the winner playing at 5 p.m. the next day and the loser playing at 9 a.m.

Glen-Lowry 8, Par Prair 7

The Glenwood-Lowry Legion won its first game over Parkers Prairie last Monday night, 8-7.  The Lakers fell behind 1-0 and 4-2, but tied it up with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Glenwood-Lowry went up 6-2 with two more runs in the seventh, but Parkers Prairie countered with two runs of its own in the bottom-half of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.

The two teams went scoreless over the next three innings before Glenwood-Lowry went up 8-6 with a pair of runs in the 11th.

Things didn’t look good in the bottom-half of the inning when Parkers Prairie put its first three runners on base on a single, error and another single to score one run and put runners on first and second base.  The next batter hit into a fielder’s choice for one out and the Lakers got the final two outs on a strikeout and flyout to center to end the 8-7 victory.

Dylan Alexander started on the mound for the Lakers, pitching the first six innings and giving up four hits, six runs (five earned) and four walks with three strikeouts.  Alex Panitzke pitched the final five innings to record the win and improve to 3-1 for the season.  He gave up just two hits, one unearned run and five walks with three strikeouts.

Offensively, the Lakers outhit the home team 13-6 with four players having multiple-hit games.  PJ Johnson was 3-for-6 with a run, two RBI and a double, while Alexander was 2-for-4 with two runs, two walks and a double, Connor Erickson was 2-for-5 with a double and stolen base, and Ryland Martin was 2-for-4 with a run, two RBI and double.

PJ Johnson had a key two-run, two-out single in the seventh, while Noah Jensen had a two-run, two-out double in the 11th for what proved to be the winning runs.  Also coming through with hits for the Lakers were Jack Majerus, Panitzke and Austin Ballhagen.

Glen-Low 2, Par Prair 0

The Lakers moved two wins away from a state berth with a 2-0 victory over Parkers Prairie in the second game of a best-of-three series, Thursday at home.

PJ Johnson won his seventh game on the mound with the four-hit shutout, while Connor Erickson, Ryland Martin and Noah Jensen were the main offensive weapons, helping Glenwood-Lowry score the game’s only two runs in the fourth inning.  “When PJ Johnson, our ace, is on the mound, we’re used to low-scoring, quick, efficient ball games,” said Glenwood-Lowry head coach Joe Alexander. “Luckily, we came out on top of this one.”

Noah Jensen led off the fourth with a solo homer and Levi Johnson, who coaxed a walk and advanced to second on a single by Erickson, came home later in the inning on an RBI-single by Martin.

Johnson was in control for most of the game, striking out four and walking four, but Parkers Prairie did strand two baserunners in the first, third and fifth innings and left nine men on base for the game.

Erickson and Martin both went 2-for-3 to lead the 8-hit Laker attack, while Jensen, Dylan Alexander, Austin Ballhagen and Alex Panitzke each had one hit.

Glenwood-Lowry also had a great chance to score in the second when Erickson, Ballhagen and Martin had three-straight two-out singles, but Erickson was called out at home for the final out on a close play at home on Martin’s single.

Glen-Low 8, Kerk 1 

The Lakers scored seven runs in the first inning and cruised to the 8-1 victory.  In fact, the first eight batters reached base for Glenwood-Lowry and seven runs came across with no outs before Kerkhoven got out of the inning by recording three-straight outs.

That was more than enough offensive support for Ryland Martin, who earned his third pitching victory this summer.  Martin pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up four hits, one run and three walks with four strikeouts, before giving way to Austin Ballhagen, who came in to get the final out with the bases loaded.

Jack Majerus reached on an error to get the Lakers’ half of the first inning underway and Alex Panitzke and Dylan Alexander followed with singles to plate one run.

Noah Jensen and PJ Johnson kept the pressure up with RBI-doubles before Levi Johnson singled to put runners on first and third.  Connor Erickson’s two-run double plated the Johnson brothers and another error on a grounder by Ballhagen scored Erickson with the Lakers’ seventh run of the inning; all with no outs.

Glenwood-Lowry, which had six of its 11 hits for the game in the first inning, did not any walks, but Kerkhoven did have three errors, which led to two unearned runs.

Kerkhoven, which earned a berth in the finals after beating Redwood Falls twice 4-3 and 9-1, scored its only run in the seventh inning.  Kerkhoven left the bases loaded in the fourth and seventh innings and left eight runners on base in total.

Panitzke, Alexander, Erickson and Martin had two hits each to lead Glenwood-Lowry, while Jensen, PJ Johnson and Levi Johnson each had one.

Kerk 3, G-L 2, 9 inn

Kerkhoven’s Luke Jeseritz hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom-half of the ninth inning to give Kerkhoven a 3-2 victory in the first game, Sunday at Sunburg.

It was a devastating loss for the Lakers, who had scored a run in the top-half of the inning for what they thought was the winning run.

It was a pitchers’ duel between the two teams as Alex Call pitched seven innings for Kerkhoven before having to leave the game because of the pitch count and Dylan Alexander pitched 8 1/3 innings for the Lakers before giving way to Alex Panitzke.

Kerkhoven scored a run in the first inning, but Glenwood-Lowry tied it up on an RBI-hit by Jack Majerus.  That would be all the scoring until the ninth inning when Noah Jensen coaxed a one-out walk, advanced to second on a groundout and came home on a single by Connor Erickson.

Panitzke got the first batter in Kerkhoven’s half of the inning on a strikeout and, after the next two batters reached on singles, Panitzke got out No. 2 on another strikeout.  However, Luke Jeseritz hit a 1-1 pitch to centerfield to score the winning runs, sending the two teams back on the field for a third and deciding game.

Majerus, Erickson and Ryland Martin had the only hits for the Lakers, while Panitzke fell to 3-2 with the loss on the mound.

Glen-Lowry 2, Kerk 1

A great defensive effort by the Lakers helped the team beat Kerkhoven in the second game, Sunday, giving Glenwood-Lowry its second state berth in the last three years.

Kerkhoven took a 1-0 lead after one inning again, but the Lakers scored a run in the second to tie up the game and got the gamewinner in the fifth.

Meanwhile, Alex Panitzke pitched 5 1/3 masterful innings to keep Kerkhoven off balance and Jack Majerus came in to pitch the final 1 2/3 innings to earn the save.

Kerkhoven had three singles and a walk in the first, but left the bases loaded.  The Lakers scored their first run in the second when Riley Dell was hit by a pitch, stole second and third base and came home on a passed ball.

In the fifth, Panitzke walked to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a passed ball and to third on walks to PJ Johnson and Connor Erickson and came home on another passed ball by Kerkhoven.

Kerkhoven went down in order in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings before leaving one runner on base in the sixth and putting two runners on base with no outs in the seventh on a hit-by-pitch and walk.

Majerus preserved the win for his team by getting the final two outs on a strikeout and grounder to second.  

Panitzke improved to 4-2 with the victory, giving up four hits, one walk and one run over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.  He was also 2-for-3 at the plate with a run and walk, while Dylan Alexander and Austin Ballhagen had the other two hits for the Lakers.

Glen-Lowry 8, at PP, 11 in

Glen-L (16-5) 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 — 8 13 5

Parkers Pr 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 — 7 6 4

HITTING:  G-L-PJ Johnson 3-for-6, 1 run, 2 RBI, double; Dylan Alexander 2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 bb, double; Connor Erickson 2-for-5, double, sb; Ryland Martin 2-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, double; Jack Majerus 1-for-5, 1 run, sac; Alex Panitzke 1-for-4, bb, sac; Noah Jensen 1-for-5, 2 RBI, bb, double; Austin Ballhagen 1-for-4, 1 run, hbp; Levi Johnson 0-for-5, 2 runs . . . PP-S. Hanson 2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI, bb, double

PITCHING:  (ip-h-r-er-bb-so):  G-L-Dylan Alexander 6-4-6-5-4-3; Alex Panitzke (W, 3-1)  5-2-1-0-5-3 . . . PP-D. Debilzen (L)  6 2/3-9-5-3-1-6; N. Steidl 4 1/3-4-3-3-3-4

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at Glen-Low 2, Par Prair 0

Par Prairie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 0

Glen-Low (17-5) 0 0 0 2 0 0 x — 2 8 1

HITTING:  G-L-Connor Erickson 2-for-3; Ryland Martin 2-for-3, RBI; Alex Panitzke 1-for-3; Dylan Alexander 1-for-3; Noah Jensen 1-for-2, 1 run, RBI, HR, bb; Austin Ballhagen 1-for-3, sb; Levi Johnson 0-for-2, 1 run, bb . . . PP-four players with one hit each

PITCHING:  (ip-h-r-er-bb-so):  G-L-PJ Johnson (W, 7-1)  7-4-0-0-4-4 . . . PP-S. Sansness (L)  4 1/3-5-0-0-1-1; J. Johnson 1 2/3-3-2-2-1-0

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at Glen-Low 8, Kerk 1

Kerk 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 — 1 6 3

Glen-Low (18-5) 7 0 0 0 0 1 x — 7 11 0

HITTING:  G-L-Alex Panitzke 2-for-4, 1 run, RBI; Dylan Alexander 2-for-4, 1 run; Connor Erickson 2-for-3, 1 run, 2 RBI, double; Ryland Martin 2-for-3; Noah Jensen 1-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, double; PJ Johnson 1-for-3, 1 run, RBI, double; Levi Johnson 1-for-3, 1 run, sb; Aron Majerus 0-for-0, 1 run, sb; Jack Majerus 0-for-4, 1 run, RBI, sb . . . KERK-Jaiden Henjum 2-for-4, double; four others with one hit each

PITCHING:  (ip-h-r-er-bb-so):  G-L-Ryland Martin (W, 3-2)  6 2/3-4-1-1-3-4; Austin Ballhagen 1/3-2-0-0-0-0 . . . KERK-Evan Zimmer (L)  6-11-8-6-0-5

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at Kerk 3, Glen-L 2, 9 in

Glen-Low (18-6) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 — 2 3 2

Kerkhoven 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 — 3 8 0

HITTING:  G-L-Jack Majerus 1-for-4, RBI; Connor Erickson 1-for-3, RBI, bb; Ryland Martin 1-for-3, 1 run; Noah Jensen 0-for-2, 1 run, bb, hbp . . . KERK-Luke Jeseritz 2-for-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double; Evan Zimmer 2-for-4, 1 run

PITCHING:  (ip-h-r-er-bb-so):  G-L-Dylan Alexander 8-5-1-1-2-4; Alex Panitzke (L, 3-2)  2/3-3-2-2-0-2 . . KERK-Alex Call 7-2-1-1-2-16; Jaiden Henjum 2-1-1-1-1-2

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Glen-Lowry 2, at Kerk 1

Kerkhoven 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 4 2

Glen-Low (19-6) 0 1 0 0 1 0 x — 2 4 1

HITTING:  G-L-Alex Panitzke 2-for-3, 1 run, bb; Dylan Alexander 1-for-3, bb; Austin Ballhagen 1-for-1, bb, 2 sb; Riley Dell 0-for-2, 1 run, hbp . . . KERK-Alex Call 2-for-3, RBI 

PITCHING:  (ip-h-r-er-bb-so):  G-L-Alex Panitzke (W, 4-2)  5 1/3-4-1-1-1-3; Jack Majerus 1 2/3-0-0-0-1-1 . . KERK-Jaiden Henjum 3 2/3-3-1-0-2-5; Travis Engelke 2 1/3-1-1-0-4-3

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