HARTINGTON — A six-run deficit in the first inning proved too much for Laurel-Coleridge to overcome on Saturday as it was eliminated from the Class C Area 2 American Legion Senior District Baseball Tournament at Felber Park in Hartington.

The 9-1 knockout punch was delivered by Pender, which recorded six hits and six runs in the first against starting Laurel-Coleridge pitcher Clint Wemhoff.

“That inning made the biggest difference for us,” Laurel-Coleridge head coach Don Maxwell said. “The most important thing for us to do at that point was to keep battling and not quit playing the game.”

Pender’s Jordan Nelson set the tone early when he scored the first run of the contest following his lead-off single. John Smith then brought in Denman Bledsoe after pounding out an RBI double, and teammate Bret Meyer crossed the plate on a pass ball.

To finish out the inning, Ryley Mohl blasted a two-RBI triple and Zach Yarolimek laid down a bunt to score Mohl, which gave Pender a 6-0 advantage.

“We felt like we could make up the first few runs, but Pender kept finding the right spots and capitalized off its opportunities to increase the lead,” Maxwell said. “The six runs became a hole that we couldn’t quite dig ourselves out of.”

In the fourth, Pender added one more run when Colton Novak scored from third following a Laurel-Coleridge error that allowed Bledsoe to reach first base.

Laurel-Coleridge responded in the fifth inning by collecting its first run off of Travis Nelson’s RBI single that brought Scott Pippitt to home plate.

“It’s never too late to get something going,” Maxwell said. “We had some of our biggest production in the fifth, but left too many guys on base. It was unfortunate that we didn’t draw out the big hits when we were in position.”

As Laurel-Coleridge struggled to get its offense going, Pender tallied two runs in the top of the seventh. Bledsoe hit a stand up double and scored on a RBI single from Smith. Smith then recorded the final run of the game to help Pender claim the victory.

“These boys did a great job,” Maxwell said. “Most of them haven’t had the chance to play baseball until the legion program started up awhile back so they definitely have impressed me with their participation.”

Leading the way for Laurel-Coleridge was Travis Nelson, who ended the day with one RBI and two singles. Kyle Kardell and Wemhoff finished with one single each.

On the mound, Wemhoff threw a complete game, allowing nine runs and 12 hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Now that the season is over for Laurel-Coleridge, Maxwell believes that the team will rebuild and come back next year ready to compete.

“I know that we are going to hold a skills camp at the start of next summer,” he said. “We have a good group, and we will look to push their dedication further than before.”

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