(ATLANTIC) – The Atlantic Trojans and St. Albert Falcons split a Hawkeye Ten Conference baseball doubleheader Tuesday evening in Atlantic. The Trojans claimed the opener with a 12-6 win, while the Falcons bounced back to take Game 2, 6-3.
In the first game, Kale Jensen led the charge for Atlantic with a perfect night at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI. Hudson McLaren, Sawyer Tarrell, and Jack Muller each collected two hits, while Gavin McLaren, Keston Schmitt, and Grant Petty added singles to round out the Trojans’ 13-hit performance.
The Trojans did most of their damage early, responding to a three-run first inning by St. Albert with six runs of their own in the bottom half. Atlantic added one more in the second and three in the fourth to stretch their lead to 10-3. The Falcons closed the gap with three runs in the sixth, but the Trojans answered with two more in the bottom half to secure the 12-6 victory.
Hudson McLaren earned the win on the mound for Atlantic, striking out six over five innings. Keston Schmitt closed out the game with two strikeouts in two innings to record the save.
St. Albert managed just five hits in the opener, including doubles from Connor Holly and Owen Beck. Cole Hobbs, Avery Beck, and Bennett Johnsen added singles for the Falcons.
Falcons Take Game Two Behind Strong Pitching from Eighth Grader Gentile
In the second game, St. Albert leaned on eighth grader Brek Gentile, who delivered an impressive performance on the mound. Gentile kept the Atlantic hitters off balance all game by mixing up speeds effectively, helping the Falcons to a 6-3 win.
St. Albert tallied six runs on seven hits. Jeremiah Sherrill led the offense with a single and a double, while Cole Hobbs chipped in with two singles. Owen Marshall, Kaicen Nadgwick, and Parker Heisterkamp each added base hits for the Falcons.
Atlantic was led at the plate by Kale Jensen, who followed up his big Game 1 performance with a solo home run in Game 2. Gavin McLaren and Sawyer Tarrell each added singles, but the Trojans struggled to generate consistent offense.
St. Albert broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run third inning and added two more runs in the fifth to build a 6-1 lead. Atlantic mounted a late rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring twice, but the comeback fell short.
Atlantic returns to action Wednesday night, hosting Panorama. The game will be broadcast live on 95.7 FM and streamed on westerniowatoday.com TV and YouTube. Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m., with the first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
