By John Rittenhouse
The momentum created by winning its first amateur baseball game of the season the week before didn't carry over to Sunday for the Hills Thunder.
Hills played a pair of games at Redbird Field in Luverne on a hot, steamy day.
The Thunder ended up losing a tight, 3-2 game to Spencer, Iowa, during the first tilt of the day before dropping a 9-3 decision to Jackson in the finale.
Hills had a 2-1 lead during the early stages of Game 1 before succumbing by one run to Spencer.
Spencer drew first blood when it plated a run in the home half of the first inning, but Hills rallied to score twice in the top of the third to gain a one-run cushion.
Jarud Lang drew a walk and Eric Harnack singled to get things rolling for the Thunder in the third.
Lang scored on a sacrifice fly by Scott Harnack. A run-scoring single by Cade Lang chased home Eric Harnack.
Spencer tied the game at two with a run in the fourth inning before plating the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Jarud Lang pitched all seven innings for the Thunder. He allowed five hits, one earned run and two walks while recording six strikeouts.
Cade Lang slapped two hits in the game.
Hills led by two runs early in the second game against Jackson before being outscored 9-1 the rest of the way in a six-run setback.
The Thunder got off to a good start in the bottom of the first when Jarud Lang doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Scott Harnack, and Eric Harnack singled and scored on a double by Matt Wingate to make it a 2-0 game.
Jackson scored three runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 6-1 advantage it would never relinquish.
Hills made it 6-3 when Kurt Bly doubled and scored on a fielderÕs choice by Jarud Lang in the bottom of the fifth.
Jackson, however, scored three times in the seventh to make it a six-run difference in the end.
Eric Harnack led the Thunder at the plate with two hits. Jarud Lang, Wingate and Bly added one hit each.
Wingate tossed the first six and one-third innings of the game against Jackson and was saddled with the loss. He was touched for eight hits and nine runs (six were earned) while walking one batter and fanning six.
Derek Sammons pitched the final two-thirds of one inning. He surrendered one hit.
The 1-10 Thunder will play a game in Wilmont tonight before taking on Butterfield and Windom in Luverne Sunday.