Photo by Jake Olson: GHEC/T/ML's Griffin Studer trots towards home plate during the first inning of Tuesday afternoon's contest against Nicollet at Truman.

TRUMAN – Griffin Studer stayed aggressive. He hunted for his pitch despite the 3-0 count.

With one out in the first inning, the senior ripped a shot down the left field line to score John Carr and Reagan Emmert. It was the first base knock of the afternoon for an opportunistic Jaguar offense that erupted for 12 runs in the opening frame.

Granda Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther used this explosive inning to power past Nicollet 13-0 on Monday afternoon in Truman. The Jaguars have now won their past five contests and stand at 7-8 on the season. After beginning the year with a five-game losing streak, head coach Jordan Petschke’s group has responded nicely of late. Especially considering the group’s youth.

“It was a great defense day as we turned a couple of double plays,” Petschke said. “Jonah Moeller threw strikes today and was fantastic. We had good at-bats. We didn’t see a ton of strikes, but ran the bases well when we did. Overall, just a good team win.”

The Jaguars began the game with eight walks to their first nine batters. Petschke’s team took advantage of passed balls from the Raiders’ pitching staff to score runs and steal bases while building a six-run lead.

Landon Schneider followed Studer’s big hit with one of his own on the very next plate appearance. His double deep into centerfield plated two more runs for GHEC/T/ML and proved to be the final RBI hit of the contest.

“We’ve been getting better at knowing the strike zone, and if it’s there, take a hack,” Petschke said. “Our mantra was to get to first. Get good steals, and if someone gets a big hit, we run.”

Moeller threw all five innings for the Jaguars and earned the complete-game shutout. Despite handing out six free bases to the Raiders’ offense, Moeller used his high leverage pitching to get out of any and all jams.

His biggest escape came in the second. With runners on first and second, Moeller picked up his third strikeout of the inning to prevent any more action on the basepaths. He finished his outing fanning seven batters and allowing three hits.

“He had a couple of lead-off walks that we don’t like to see, but he always came back and started over,” Petscke said. “Got one out, two outs. The defense was always with him and kept him engaged.”

GHEC/T/ML takes on Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s next Monday in Truman. First pitch will start at 4:30 p.m.