The Breckenridge baseball team survived a shaky day in the field Tuesday to sweep Park Rapids Area by scores of 3-2 and 11-9. The Cowboys improved to 8-7 following the road victories.
Breckenridge walked off the Panthers in game one when Riley Kappes emptied the bases with a single to right field, breaking the shutout and winning the contest with one swing of the bat. Trey Vogelbacher, Paul Armitage and Logan Church came wheeling around to score.
Game one was a bonafide pitcher’s duel. Kappes drew the start and pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, surrendering a hit and two walks while striking out two.
Church earned the win in long relief, allowing one earned run on two hits. The lefty recorded two strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk, lowering his earned run average to 3.43 across 18 innings.
DJ Clark took the loss despite spinning a gem for the Panthers. Clark completed six innings and held the Cowboys to a pair of singles while striking out nine batters.
The Cowboys committed three errors in the opener and added eight more in the nightcap, but the bats came alive to help offset the spotty defense. Gavin Hoffert tallied two RBIs in the leadoff spot and Connor Ernst went 3-for-5 behind him.
Kappes, Vogelbacher and Cooper Roberts each drove in a run. Armitage and Church scored twice in the middle of the lineup. Armitage showed of his running back traits with a pair of stolen bases.
On the mound, Tucker Snyder grinded through four innings. The sophomore allowed four hits and four walks, but worked his way around trouble with five punchouts, exiting the game with four earned runs allowed.
Vogelbacher entered in relief and tossed three innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and a pair of walks. Vogelbacher only recorded one strikeout, but the senior did enough to improve his record to 3-1 and lower his ERA to a team-best 3.18.
Weather pending, Breckenridge is scheduled to host a Thursday doubleheader against Frazee. The Heart O’ Lakes Conference games are set to begin at 4 p.m. on B 92.7 FM and KBMW News Live YouTube. The Cowboys are currently fourth in the HOL standings at 6-4, one game ahead of Frazee.
