By John Rittenhouse
The Hills Thunder broke into the win column in amateur baseball play in front of home fans Sunday.
Hosting Heron Lake in a league game, Hills rode an outstanding pitching performance by Matt Wingate to a 4-0 victory.
The win snapped an eight-game losing streak that started at the beginning of the season.
Hills will try to build on the win when it plays Spencer, Iowa, and Jackson at 2 and 4 p.m.
respectively Sunday in Luverne. The Thunder will travel to Wilmont for a single game Wednesday.
A dominating pitching performance by Wingate was the key to victory over Heron Lake Sunday.
Wingate tossed a seven-inning, one-hit shutout. He fanned seven batters during the game and had a no-hitter broken when Heron Lake came up with a single in the seventh inning.
Hills struck for four runs in the first five innings to support the pitcher.
The Thunder came up with two runs in the bottom of the third inning before adding single runs in the fourth and fifth frames.
Hills batters Jarud Lang and Scott Harnack were hit by pitches to set the table in the third. Both runners scored when Chris Putnam singled.
Derek Sammons walked and scored in the fourth when Lang bounced into a fielder's choice.
Cade Lang singled and scored in the fifth when Wingate hit into a fielder's choice.
Wade Jellema led the Thunder at the plate by slapping a pair of hits.
Hills dropped an 8-2 game in Wilmont Wednesday, June 19, before recording its first win.
The Thunder led 2-0 early in the game before Wilmont went on an 8-0 scoring run to end the game and prevail by six.
Hills took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Eric Harnack singled before scoring on Cade Lang's sacrifice fly.
Sammons was hit by a pitch before scoring on a fielderÕs choice by Jellema to make it a 2-0 game in the second.
Wilmont took control of the game in the bottom of the second by scoring five runs to open a 5-2 advantage.
The hosts added a single run in the sixth before capping the scoring with a two-run seventh inning.
Putnam started the game on the mound and took the loss. He pitched six and two-third innings of eight-hit, six-run ball. Putnam walked nine batters and fanned five.
Wingate relieved Putnam and pitched the final inning and one-third. He allowed two hits and two runs while recording a pair of strikeouts.
Sammons and Eric Harnack came up with one hit each for Hills.