KoMets run past Z-M in opener

The Kasson-Mantorville baseball team opened its season with a victory on Monday evening as they went on the road and defeated Zumbrota-Mazeppa by a score of 4-2. While the KoMets were only able to record six hits in the game, they were very opportunistic thanks to their speed and athleticism on the basepaths.
“We were able to run the bases well,” K-M coach Broc Threinen observed. “We have a fast team and we were able to steal and move up a couple bases when we needed to.”
The KoMets got on the board early when Hunter Nelson lead off the game with a single. After stealing second base, he advanced to third on Sam Dvorak’s grounder to second and would score on a wild pitch to give K-M an early 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, the KoMets would use their athleticism again as Drew Kirmse singled and then stole second and third before scoring on a sac fly from Andy Plein. The fast start gave K-M a 2-0 lead and really relieved any jitters that the team may have had.
“It’s always big for the kids to get that first run,” Threinen admitted. “They can just relax once they have that first run on the board.”
With the early lead, Brendan Knoll was able to carve up the Cougars with six strikeouts the first time through the order. Although Z-M would see a little more success off the junior the second time through the order, but he’d allow just three hits in four innings.
“The thing with Brendan is getting him to work ahead in the count,” Threinen stated. “When he does that, his other stuff is tough to hit.”
Kirmse would score again in the top of the fourth after Keenan Wenzel reached on an error to make it 3-0 and after Caleb Hinrichs drove in a run to close the gap, the KoMets would add an insurance run on a double from Aaron Berge in the top of the seventh to allow Michael Head to pick up the save in a 4-2 victory.