ALDEN — Strong pitching led the Knights in their second win of the season.

The Alden-Conger baseball team defeated Nicollet 4-1 on Thursday at home, after losing to Nicollet in a 10-0 shutout on the road just three days earlier.

The Knights jumped out to an early lead, scoring all four of their runs in the second inning. Other than scoring their lone run in the sixth, the Raiders were kept in check for the rest of the game.

Junior Dillan Lein was a force for the Knights, both on the mound and at the plate.

“Dillan Lein started on the mound for us tonight and threw a great six innings of baseball,” said Alden-Conger coach Sam Hintz. “He pitched well tonight; he threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and we got the first batter out in most of the innings.”

The junior allowed just three hits and one unearned run in his six-inning appearance Thursday, recording the win for the Knights. At the plate he was 1-3 with a triple and a run scored.

Sophomore Gavin Steele was another offensive leader for Alden-Conger, with a run scored and two RBIs. The sophomore also recorded the save in the seventh inning for the Knights, giving up one hit amongst the four batters he faced.

Jacob Wallin and Josh Majerus each scored a run for the Knights, with Kaleb Bendickson tacking on an RBI.

Next, Alden-Conger (2-6 overall, 2-3 Valley Conference) will play at 5 p.m. today at Mankato Loyola. The Crusaders (6-3, 2-2) are coming off of a 6-5 eight-inning loss to Cleveland on Tuesday.