Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Legion Gold’s Cole Ranweiler races around second base in the second inning for a leadoff triple against Fairmont Post 36 at Mueller Park in New Ulm on Monday.

NEW ULM — New Ulm Legion Gold pitcher Aaron Portner got his run support early on Monday night and used it to help coast to a 6-0 shutout victory over Fairmont Post 36 in legion baseball action at Mueller Park.

After Gold struck for three runs in the second inning, Portner retired the next 14 batters he faced until giving up a single to Blake Buntjer in the seventh inning. He allowed just three hits, no walks and picked up nine strikeouts in the complete-game win.

The defense behind him was also solid, committing no errors and getting a diving catch from Hunter Ranweiler in left field in the first inning and a jumping catch at the fence in foul ground from right fielder Colten Schaefer in the fourth.

“That’s very big just to have good fielding behind and then to help them out even by not giving up walks and all that,” Portner said. “I had good command of my fastballs.”

Jack Hested took the loss for Fairmont in six innings, striking out two batters and allowing three earned runs on nine hits. Fairmont committed four errors in the game.

After Cole Ranweiler led off the bottom of the second with a triple to right field, Chris Knowles promptly brought him in on an RBI single for a 1-0 Gold lead. Nolan Drill then followed Knowles up with a single and Gold scored its second run when Knowles scored on a bunt by Schaefer and a throwing error.

Drill put Gold up 3-0 after scoring on a stolen base by Schaefer and a throw into the outfield from the catcher.

Gold added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth after Jaden Domeier and Josh Seidl started the inning reaching on back-to-back groundball errors. Braden Zimmerman drove in Domeier on a fielder’s choice before Cole Ranweiler scored Seidl on a base hit.

Schaefer walked and scored with two outs from second after an RBI single by Domeier in the bottom of the sixth for the final score.

Cole Ranweiler was 2 for 3 for Gold, while Hunter Ranweiler and Drill each went 2 for 3.

Noah Nelson and Tyson Geerdes added Fairmont’s other two hits, a single each.

Gold hosts Hutchinson at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Mueller Park.