When Jon Holtorf stepped to the plate for the first time on Thursday at Marcusen Park, his Packers were already trailing 3-0.

Friday, April 07, 2000

When Jon Holtorf stepped to the plate for the first time on Thursday at Marcusen Park, his Packers were already trailing 3-0.

But in a single bat with two out and no one on base, Holtorf managed to lift his team.

The Austin catcher took Mankato West’s Jon Kozitza to nine pitches, fouling off a number of curve-ball offerings.

"I was working him over," Holtorf said. "He kept coming with the curve and I was waiting for the fastball."

On the 10th pitch of the at-bat, the fastball came and the righthanded Holtorf jacked it the opposite way over the fence in dead right field.

The home run put Austin on the board and set in motion an Austin doubleheader sweep, 6-5, 7-2.

"It got us up," Holtorf said, "and we just kept battling them."

The Scarlets came into the game ranked No. 20 in the Class AAA preseason rankings. They left without any evidence to back up their position in the coaches poll.

Meanwhile, the Packers (2-1) were able to put behind them a 10-7 opening day loss to Winona, a game in which Austin led 7-4 before collapsing in the sixth inning.

"A big part of what happened today was what Winona did to us two days ago," said Nick Rohne, who pitched a complete game win in Thursday’s first game. "Baseball’s a wierd game. Anything is possible."

Rohne proved hittable against the Scarlets, who scored in each of the first four innings. But Austin’s senior righthander also proved nasty, striking out 13 while allowing just three baserunners over the final three innings.

Rohne’s late-inning mastery allowed Austin to cobble together its comeback.

The Packers, down 5-1, got two in the fourth, another in the sixth and entered their last at-bat with the bottom of the order up to bat.

Brian Toov started the rally by reaching base on Jay Nessler’s second throwing error of the game. Austin coach Jerry Miller regards the West third baseman as the best player in the Big Nine.

Nessler lived up to that billing at the plate, going 7-for-8 on the day. But Nessler, the quarterback of West’s state champion football team, faltered when his team needed him most.

Toov reached second on a groundout and scored to tie the game on Brent Holck’s chopper up the middle.

Holck stole second before a Joe Huffman fly out.

With two outs in the seventh, Rohne was intentionally walked, sending clean-up hitter Matt Smith to the plate.

Smith singled to left on the second pitch, plating Holck and giving Austin the walk-off win.

"It felt good," said Smith, who took extra batting practice after a hitless day against Winona. "That’s the situation every baseball player wants to be in."

Smith and Co. proceeded to clobber West in the nightcap.

In that all-Austin game, pitchers Tanner Schieck and Clint Ripley proved to be able hurlers, striking out 10, while stranding the bases loaded in the second and sixth innings.

"That Winona game taught us to stay cool in the clutch," said Smith. "We want to take something away from every game, to learn some stuff every time out."

Against the Winhawks, the Packers learned that no lead is safe.

Against the Scarlets, the Packers may have learned how to battle when that lead isn’t theirs.

Game 1

Austin 6, Mankato West 5

Mankato West Austin

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Kaspner cf 3 1 1 1 Holck rf 3 1 1 1

Kozitza p 3 0 1 0 Huffman ss 4 0 0 0

Tungsvik p 1 0 0 0 Rohne p 3 2 2 0

Nessler 3b 4 1 3 1 Smith 1b 3 1 2 2

Schmiesing lf 4 0 1 0 Hansen cf 2 0 0 1

Huettl ss 3 0 0 0 Holtorf c 2 1 1 2

Heitner c 3 0 0 0 Ryan lf 3 0 0 0

Erstad 1b 3 2 2 0 Toov 2b 3 1 0 0

Stock rf 2 0 0 0 Klapperick 3b 2 0 0 0

Scholl rf 0 0 0 0 Morrison ph 1 0 0 0

Sjulstad dh 3 1 1 1

Totals 29 5 9 3 26 6 6 6

Mankato West 121 100 0 – 5

Austin 010 201 2 – 6

Two outs when winning run scored.

E-Nessler (2), Haefner, Heitner, Huffman, Klapperick. LOB-Mankato West 5, Austin 5. 2B-Nessler, Erstad. 3B-Sjulstad, Smith, Rohne. HR-Holtorf. SF-Holtorf, Hansen. SB-Kaspner, Holck (2), Holtorf.

Mankato West IP H R ER BB SO

Kozitza 5 4 4 4 2 7

Tungsvik L 1 2/3 2 2 0 1 0

Austin

Rohne W 7 9 5 4 1 13

HBP-by Rohne (Scholl).

Game 2

Austin 7, Mankato West 2

Mankato West Austin

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Kaspner cf 4 1 2 0 Holck rf 3 0 1 1

Kozitza 2b/ss 2 0 0 0 Huffman dh 1 1 0 0

Nessler 3b 4 0 4 1 Ripley p 1 0 0 0

Schmiesing lf 3 0 0 0 Rohne ss 2 1 1 0

Bernard lf 1 0 0 0 Smith 1b 4 2 2 1

Erstad 1b 4 0 0 0 Hansen cf 2 1 0 0

Sjulstad p 1 1 0 0 Holtorf c 2 1 1 1

Stock p 2 0 0 0 Hovey ph 1 0 0 0

Huettl ss 1 0 0 0 Morrison lf 3 1 2 1

Veldhuisen 2b 1 0 0 0 Toov 2b 3 0 2 2

Scholl rf/p 3 0 0 0 Brede 3b 3 0 1 1

Palmer 3b 2 0 0 1

Totals 28 2 6 1 25 7 10 7

Mankato West 010 100 0 – 2

Austin 024 010 X – 7

E-Holtorf. LOB-Mankato West 12, Austin 8. 2B-Nessler, Smith, Brede. SB-Toov, Smith.

Mankato West IP H R ER BB SO

Sjulstad L 2 2 4 4 5 3

Haefner 2/3 4 2 2 0 0

Scholl 3 1/3 4 1 1 0 2

Austin

Schieck W 4 4 2 2 4 5

Ripley S 3 2 0 0 2 5

HBP-by Scholl (Hansen), by Schieck (Huettl).