Senior Horns battling through Area 7 bracket

    The Imperial Pinnacle Bank Senior Horns are one step away from a berth in the Class C State Tournament.
    The Horns have won four games at the Area 7 Tournament in Valentine and need a Tuesday night win over Palmer-Wolbach-Greeley to advance to the state tournament in Gordon-Rushville which starts this weekend.
    After several weeks off, the Horns took some time to get going in their tournament opening game against Bridgeport.
    Neither team scored in the first inning, but Imperial rallied with two outs in the second. Carson Terryberry reached on an error and scored on a double by Cooper Dillan. A single by Mason Wallin drove in a second run.
    Dillan started the game for the Horns with Wallin coming on in relief. Both pitched 2.1 innings and kept their pitch count at 30, which kept them available to pitch the next day.
    After sitting Bridgeport down in order to start the third inning Imperial took advantage of another Bridgeport error to get Camron Lempke on base. Lempke would be the final run of the game when he crossed home plate on a balk by the Bombers’ pitcher.
    The Horns allowed Bridgeport batters to get on base over the final four innings, but got the timely outs needed to seal the 3-0 win.
    Carter Leibbrandt finished the game on the bump for Imperial.
    Between the three Horns pitchers, Imperial struck out eight batters, walked five and allowed two hits.
    The win adavnced the Horns to a Saturday evening matchup with PWG.
    Imperial took advantage of being the home team once more. The Horns set PWG down in order to start the game, then used singles by Tysen Lempke, Jaret Peterson and Gavin Wisnieski to bring home two runs.
    That lead was halved in the top of the second inning when back-to-back Horns errors put a PWG runner in position to score on a double.
    Imperial put the ball in play four times in the bottom of the second, but only one resulted in  a base hit.
    PWG surged into the lead in the third inning. Imperial pitchers gave up three walks and four hits that allowed PWG to bring five runs home.
    Terryberry kept the Horns in the game as he continued his hot streak at the plate. C. Lempke, Peterson, and Wisnieski each reached base setting up a grand slam by Terryberry to tie the game 6-6.
    The homer broke the Blue Duck’ backs. The Horns held PWG scoreless over the final four innings while Imperial added a run in each the fourth and sixth innings.
    C. Lempke walked and stole two bases in the fourth inning to set himself up to score on a single by Thomas Reeves.
    In the sixth inning, Leibbrandt walked and scored on a single by T. Lempke to round out scoring in the 8-6 win.
    Noah Rau, C. Lempke and Peterson combined for the win. Together they struck out six batters, walked four and allowed nine hits.
    Sunday evening the Horns took on Gordon-Rushville.
    The Regulators took an early lead after scoring one run in the first inning, but, after leaving the bases loaded in its half of the first, Imperial took control in the second.
    Wallin singled and C. Lempke and Peterson hit back-to-back doubles, followed immediately by a triple from Reeves. Wisnieski added a single as well to cap the five run innings.
    The runs kept coming in the third and fourth innings. Dillan was hit by a pitch for the second straight inning. Dillan scored, as did T. Lempke and C. Lempke.
    The fourth inning was all about the Horns. Wisnieski was the batter to reach base after being hit by a pitch. Back-to-back home runs by Terryberry and Wallin gave Imperial the advantage it needed to shake off one Gordon-Rushville run in the top of the fifth and claim a five-inning 11-3 win.
    C. Lempke and Peterson were each 3-3 at the plate.
    Dillan and T. Lempke combined for seven strikeouts, five walks and four hits.
    An 8-0 win over Hershland Monday moved the Horns into the Tuesday’s championship game.
    Imperial only outhit Hershland 3-2 in the game, but walked 10 times in the game.
    Hershland stranded all six of its baserunners in the game.
    Timely walks and pass balls kept Horns’ batters moving around the bases throughout the game.
    C. Lempke got Imperial on the board in the first inning.
    Although held scoreless in the second inning, the Horns scored Peterson in the third.
    Two walks and an error by Hershland set up Wisnieski’s two-RBI single to increase Imperial’s lead to 6-0 in the fourth inning.
    Pass balls in the bottom of the fifth inning allowed the two runs needed for the Horns to end the game in walk off fashion, 8-0.
    Wallin went the distance for the Horns.
    Wallin struck out six and walked four batters and helped himself out with a double in the game.
    Peterson was hit by a pitch and walked four times.
    If Imperial got the win over PWG Tuesday, the state tournament will begin Saturday and run through Aug. 2.