By John RittenhouseThe Adrian baseball team enjoyed a successful start to the season by routing Minneota 9-0 in Adrian Tuesday.AHS pitchers David Hoffer and John Archer tossed a combined seven-hit shutout to lead the team defensively.Freshman Glen Kruger drove in three runs with three hits at the plate, which includes a two-run homer in the third inning.It was the pitching efforts of Hoffer and Archer that commanded the attention of AHS coach Kevin Nowotny.Hoffer tossed four innings of three-hit, six-strikeout ball to pick up the win. Archer yielded four hits and fanned two batters while working two innings of relief."Our pitching was really solid," said AHS coach Nowotny. "That’s what really pleased me."Adrian scored two runs in the second, third and fifth innings before plating three runs in the sixth.Kruger singled and scored the first run in the second when Will Lutmer doubled. Brent Tjepkes singled home Lutmer.Levi Bullerman singled with two outs in the third before Kruger lifted a two-run homer over the right-field fence to make it 4-0 in the third.Cody Kontz was hit by a pitch in the fifth before scoring on Brandon Diekmann’s RBI single. Nick Weidert singled home Diekmann to give the hosts a 6-0 lead.Matt Meyer singled and scored the first run of the three-run sixth when Diekmann singled. Bullerman singled home Diekmann before scoring on an RBI single by Kruger.Diekmann, Bullerman and Tjepkes slapped two hits each for the Dragons, who host Jackson County Central today before traveling to Lamberton for the Red Rock Conference opener Tuesday.
