Gopher Conference baseball teams struggle in May competition

The month of May has not been kind to the three Steele County teams in the Gopher Conference. New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, Blooming Prairie and Medford are a collective 2-11 in May baseball. Both of those two wins belong to Medford. 
“It’s been a tough month,” said NRHEG Coach Drew Paukert after the teams’ seventh straight loss, four of which came this month. “May hasn’t been good to the Panthers baseball team. The stretch that we’ve been in, losing seven in a row, has been tough.”
Unlike NRHEG and Blooming Prairie, Medford has maintained a winning record, but the 4-5 stretch over the last nine games comes in stark contrast to the 7-0 start to the season. 
Medford Coach Jon Chappuis said his team remains optimistic, but they are definitely dealing with fatigue. 
“Our key is to get some rest,” said Chappuis. “We have played every game during (last) week with the same nine players. We only have 18 (players) total in 9-12 grade, so the players have not gotten any rest.”
Chappuis said the team has started getting creative in how they can rest up before the postseason, including pulling players from JV to give varsity members a much-needed break.  
Blooming Prairie has lost nine of their last 10, after beginning the season 3-3. 
Coach Matt Kittelson pointed out that although the wins haven’t quite been there, his team has shown quality.
 “We have played right with a lot of good teams this year, and we are going to look at those games as motivation to hopefully pull an upset over a higher seed that first round of sub-sections,” said Kittelson.
Early this season, the Blossoms showed signs of life early on, winning back-to-back away games against Lyle/Austin Pacelli and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. Since that win on April 20, the boys have defeated Maple River and have been outscored 95-29 in their last 10 games. 
“We are just tryinng to be better each day as we get ready for the playoffs,” said Kittelson.
With the final week of regular baseball here, all three teams have big matchups. Blooming Prairie was scheduled to host WEM on Tuesday, May 12, followed by a game Thursday in New Richland at 5 p.m. 
Medford was scheduled to play at NRHEG on Monday, May 11. They will host WEM on Thursday, May 14, at 5 p.m. 
“The game against WEM is big,” said Chappuis, “but the game against NRHEG is the bigger game. That game will determine how the conference will shake out.”
Medford defeated NRHEG 4-3 at home in April, but will be facing a Panthers team hungry to get back on track on their home field. 
“The boys are confident and ready to get these games in and move on to sections,” said Chappuis.
Kittelson stated that the Blossoms need to capitalize with runners in scoring position, as well as not allowing two-out rallys on defense. 
“We need to put a complete game together offensively and defensively,” said Kittelson.
Paukert is searching for consistency in closing out games and eliminating errors. 
“This has been a trend over the last seven games,” said Paukert. “In five of those games, we have either had the lead or been tied in the sixth or seventh inning and just haven’t been able to come out on the right side of things.”
Paukert added that pitching, defense and mental focus are the three keys his team is focusing on in the last weeks of play. 
“Our seniors and catcher need to do a much better job of communicating where people need to be in different situations, which will put us in a better place to execute,” said Paukert. “I still have a lot of confidence in the team and players we have here.”