Apr. 3—BLOOMING PRAIRIE — The Blooming Prairie baseball team was in midseason form with its defense as its experienced roster was consistent in an 11-2 victory over Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton in BP Thursday.
The Blossoms, who committed just one error on the day, took an early 3-0 lead on an RBI double by senior Alex Lea, and he was steady on the mound as he pitched BP (2-0 overall) to a smooth win.
Lea said the Awesome Blossoms are feeling comfortable and confident, even though it's early in the season and the weather hasn't allowed the team to have too many outdoor practices.
"Growing up with these guys, we're just like brothers and you'd do anything for them," Lea said. "You want to get better and play for your boys, and it's nice to have these guys pushing you to get better. We're feeling loose and it was nice to have a nice team win today."
BP senior Brady Kittelson had a big day in the field and with his bat, where he went three-for-four with three RBIs. Kittleson's most impressive play came when JWP had runners on first and third with no outs with BP leading 3-0 in the fourth. Kittelson hauled in a fly ball in mid center field, and he fired a rocket home to catcher Carsten Ingvalson, who tagged a JWP runner out for a momentum building double play.
"You've definitely got to watch your step when you're out there (in the outfield) and you've got to play the ball back," Kittelson said. "(On the throw) I knew that kid probably wasn't the fastest runner on their team, so I just caught the ball and let it fly."
Lea allowed just three hits and one walk in six innings of work as he allowed zero earned runs and struck out six.
"That's just what he does," BP head coach Matt Kittelson said. "He goes up there and he throws strikes and he mixes it up. He's not flashy, but I think everyone has a lot of confidence when he's on the hill."
Matt Kittelson said his team has about as much experience as it has in recent years and that will play a big factor in how successful the team will be.
"Experience is everything. It's really nice that a lot of these guys have logged a lot of innings on varsity and they know the pitching and the speed of the game," he said. "It's a huge advantage for us to have a veteran crew."
JWP 000 020 0 — 2 3 6
BP 003 107 X — 11 5 1
BP pitching: Alex Lea (W) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 R, 0 ER, 6 K, 1 HBP; Gabe Staloch, 1 IP, 0 R, 1 K
BP hitting: Brady Kittelson, 3-for-4, 3 RBIs, 4 SB, 3 R; Carsten Ingvalson, 0-for-3, 2 R, 3 SB, BB; Staloch, 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 HBP, SB; Lea, 1-for-4, double, RBI; Eliot Gimbel, 0-for-3, SB, BB; Carter Bishop, 0-for-3, R, 2 SB, BB; Brayton Ingvalson, 1-for-4, RBI, R; Lukas DenHerder, 0-for-3, R, HBP; Bo Zwiener, 0-for-4, R, BB, SB
