Jaxson Riggs has allowed three earned runs across his last 12 innings | Photo by Carol Colby
Jaxson Riggs pitched a complete game, and the Cowboy lineup gave him plenty of support Thursday, as fifth-seeded Breckenridge toppled fourth-seeded Long Prairie-Grey Eagle, 10-3, to stay unbeaten in the Section 6A Baseball Tournament.
Riggs ran his record to 6-1 by tossing seven marvelous innings. The hard-throwing righty allowed two earned runs on six hits, lowering his ERA to 2.37 through 38 1/3 innings. Riggs recorded seven strikeouts and did not issue a walk. The flamethrower located 61 of 89 pitches in the strike zone and fired five scoreless frames.
The Thunder (15-5) previously beat the Cowboys in Breckenridge (15-7), and Tuesday’s result was just the team’s third loss in section play and fifth overall.
Riggs held the Brunkhorst brothers hitless after they pummeled Breckenridge in the first meeting May 8. Hagen Brunkhorst hit two homers in that game, while Leevke Brunkhorst hit a pair of doubles in a 16-9 Thunder win.
At the plate, Riggs helped his own cause Thursday by driving in a run and tallying two base knocks, lifting his season average to .347.
Gabe Armitage went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two additional runs. The speedster stole three bags for the second straight playoff game. The senior is now a perfect 14-for-14 on the basepaths.
Connor Ernst and Jaxson Lopez each doubled, and Gavin Hoffert collected two singles. Lawson Oliphant used two walks to score twice in the No. 9 hole.
Ephraim Swartzentruber barrelled an RBI triple for the Thunder. Gavin Johnson went 2-for-3 and drove in a run. Hudson Lieser singled and scored a run.
Breckenridge advanced to the 2-0 game Thursday evening, where they fell to top-seeded Parkers Prairie by a score of 7-0. Trevor Rounds twirled a no-hitter for the Panthers, and narrowly missed a perfect game as the defense committed one error.
Parkers Prairie remains unbeaten at 20-0. Breckenridge remains alive in the double-elimination tournament.
