Jack Majerus and Alex Panitzke had three hits each and Austin Weber added a two-run homerun to lead the Lakers to an 11-1 victory against Fergus Falls last Monday in a game played at Gustavus Adolphus College.

The Lakers were forced to play at Gustavus after having its first three competitions postponed or canceled due to weather.

Due to all the changes, Minnewaska Area will have a very busy schedule over the next  month with 18 games scheduled over a 29-day span from April 25-May 23.

This week, the Lakers were set to host Sauk Centre for a doubleheader, Tuesday (tomorrow) before hosting NLS for a game Friday, April 28.

Coaching the Lakers this year are head coach Joe Alexander and assistants, Chris Lence, Jesse Johnson, Andy Goracke, Drew Olsonowski and Josh Greene.

This year’s Laker baseball roster for grades 9-12 includes senior PJ Johnson (if, c, p); juniors Dylan Alexander (c, if, of, p), Jack Majerus (of, p, if), Nathan Dell (if, p), Alex Panitzke (if, p), Thomas Poegel (if, c, p), Ryland Martin (if, of, p), Austin Weber (of, if, p), Austin Ballhagen (of, p) and Gavin Cain (if, p); sophomores Connor Frey (of, if, p), Jackson Holmes (if, p), Caden Larson (of, if, p), Oliver Rieland (c, if), Noah Jensen (c, if, of, p) and Levi Johnson (if, p); and ninth-graders AJ Svec, Jackson Marquardt, Tyson Metz, Oliver Vanderhagen, Conner Erickson, Ethan Jacobs, Tate Anderson, Ben Johnson, Riley Dell, Luke Danielson, Braylen Scharmer, Marc Gruber and Jacob Reuss.

“Although we are young, we do return many players with varsity experience that are off to great starts in our indoor practices,” coach Alexander said.  “If they can take their game to the next level, it will provide us with a strong nucleus heading into the season.”

During the opening game, the Lakers went with a lineup of Noah Jensen at first, Alex Panitzke at second, Levi Johnson at shortstop, Ryland Martin at third, Austin Weber in left field, Jack Majerus in center, Austin Ballhagen in right field, Dylan Alexander at catcher and PJ Johnson at pitcher.  Thomas Poegel was the first sub in, going in at second base with Panitzke moving over to third.

Waska 11, Fergus Falls 1

The Lakers scored 10 runs over the first three innings on the way to an 11-1 victory over Fergus Falls last Monday night.

PJ Johnson earned the victory on the mound, pitching all six innings and giving up three hits and one run with three strikeouts.

The Laker offense meanwhile, belted out nine hits, including four extra-base hits.

Jack Majerus scored the first run of the season for the Lakers in the first inning.  He led off with a walk, advanced to second on a groundout, stole third and came home on an error.

The Lakers added eight more runs in the second inning on four singles, three walks and a two-run homer by Austin Weber.  Thomas Poegel walked twice during the inning, while Alex Panitzke had two singles and Weber had a homer and single.

Minnewaska went up 10-0 with another run in the third and, after Fergus Falls scored its only run in the bottom-half of the third, the Lakers scored one more run in the top-half of the sixth to end the game early due to the 10-run rule.

Noah Jensen led off the sixth with a double and came home on a two-out single by Panitzke.

Majerus ended the game 3-for-3 with three runs, a double, triple, walk and three stolen bases, while Panitzke also had three hits, going 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI.

Weber also had a big game, going 2-for-4 with a run, homerun and three RBI, while also recording a hit in the opener was Jensen.

That was more than enough offense for Johnson, who appeared in mid-season form.

The Lakers also utilized eight walks and two Fergus Falls errors.  The only negative for Minnewaska were 12 of its 18 outs coming on strikeouts.

Waska 11, at Fer Falls 1

Waska (1-0) 1 8 1 0 0 1 — 11 9 1

FFalls 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 3 3

HITTING:  WASKA-Jack Majerus 3-for-3, 3 runs, double, triple, bb, 3 sb; Alex Panitzke 3-for-4, 1 run, 2 RBI; Austin Weber 2-for-4, 1 run, HR, 3 RBI; Noah Jensen 1-for-2, 2 runs, double, 2 bb, sb; Dylan Alexander 0-for-4, 1 run, RBI, sb; Ryland Martin 2 runs, 2 bb; Austin Ballhagen 1 run, bb, sb; Pj Johnson RBI, bb, sb; Levi Johnson bb . . . FF-3 players with one hit each

PITCHING:  (ip-h-r-er-bb-so):  WASKA-PJ Johnson (W, 1-0)  6-3-1-1-0-3 . . . FF-UA 1 2/3-3-9-8-7-2; UA 4 1/3-6-2-1-1