Strong pitching in Game 2 of a doubleheader led the Albert Lea Legion Post 56 baseball team to its first win of the season.

Albert Lea fell 7-3 in Game 1 but rebounded with a 9-2 victory in Game 2 Tuesday at Owatonna.

Tyler Steele led Post 56 from the mound in Game 2, a contest that ended after the sixth inning but counted as a complete game. Steele pitched six innings, retired four batters and allowed five hits and three walks.

“He was stellar on the mound,” said Albert Lea coach Jay Enderson. “This was a huge step for Tyler. He threw strikes and had a presence on the mound. It’s the best he’s been this year.”

Steele pitched this spring for the Tigers at Owatonna in the season opener on April 10. The game snowballed out of control, and Albert Lea lost 18-1. Enderson said he was happy to see Steele rebound against the Owatonna Legion team.

Post 56 had nine hits. Mason Hammer and Wyatt Paulsen led Albert Lea. Hammer went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, and Paulsen was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Owatonna scored its only runs in the first inning. Albert Lea tied the game in the third, added two more runs in the fourth and five in the sixth.

Behind the plate, Sam Moyer and Zach Edwards led Post 56. Moyer played catcher the first inning, and Edwards caught the rest of the game, Enderson said.

In Game 1, Albert Lea led 1-0, but six runs by Owatonna in the fourth inning put Post 56 in a hole it couldn’t climb out of.

Johnathan Fleek led Albert Lea at the plate by going 2-for-2 with an RBI, and he was the starting pitcher. In five innings, Fleek retired three batters and allowed seven hits and six runs.

Tristin Muilenburg took the mound in relief. He allowed two walks, one hit and one run.

Next, Albert Lea (1-2 overall) will play at 5 p.m. Friday at the Rochester A’s.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: June 17 post.