NRHEG got a big win to advance to the next round of the section baseball tournament when it defeated St. Peter, 5-4, Friday night.

“I was really pleased with how the boys played,” said Panthers coach Drew Paukert. “We have been playing well over the last week and a half, and we came out focused and ready to go from the first pitch.”

Literally. The Panthers scored five runs in the first inning, then hung on to down the Saints.

Eli Lutgens, Palmer Peterson, and Trai Wicks each had an RBI single in the inning.

The Saints didn’t wait long to respond, though. They put up a three-spot of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Panthers pitcher Dempsey Tucker settled down after that and made it difficult for the Saints to get anything going the rest of the game.

“We came up with some clutch hits in the first inning, and (Dempsey) really settled down after the first inning,” Paukert said. “He pitched extremely well against a good hitting team in St. Peter.”

The win is the fifth in the last seven games for the Panthers, and Paukert thinks his team is hitting its stride.

“We have talked all year about how we want to be playing our best baseball at the end of the year,” Paukert said. “I feel we are doing that.”

The Panthers will be in action again on Thursday.

Time, location, and opponent have not been determined.