Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm VFW Silver’s Carter Lang is forced out at second in a Junior Upper Midwest Classic game against St. Peter VFW Post 950 on Thursday at Mueller Park in New Ulm.

NEW ULM — It’s hard for any baseball team to pull out a win when its outhit 11-2.

New Ulm VFW Silver had that exact issue as it opened up the 2019 Junior Upper Midwest Classic on Thursday with a 7-0 loss to St. Peter VFW Post 950 at Mueller Park.

Mitch Ulrich started for Silver and took the loss in four innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and a pair of walks. He struck out three.

Silver got an inning of relief from Riley Prochniak in the fifth, Isaiah Rieser in the sixth and Jaden Miller in the seventh.

Brady Sowder got the win for St. Peter in 4 1/3 innings, walking four and giving up just one hit.

Post 950 started out with a 2-0 lead in the first inning after a two-run single by Theo Giedd. Carson Helget got Silver’s first hit in the bottom of the first with two outs, but a strikeout stranded two and spoiled Silver’s chance of getting a run back.

St. Peter added another run in the second inning for a 3-0 lead after Jake Rimstad had an RBI double. In what appeared to be a base-hit RBI by Helget in the third inning with two outs, Silver was charged with interference for the final out of the inning, stranding another pair of runners.

In the bottom of the seventh, Bryce Roiger came in to pinch hit for Silver and walked to lead off the bottom of the inning. He was advanced to second after Ryan Wiltscheck, who was also pinch hitting, dropped a base hit in to center field for Silver’s second hit of the game.

St. Peter reliever Josh Robb struck out the next two batters he saw after that single, however, ending the Silver scoring threat and giving St. Peter a shutout win. Robb pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and a walk with six strikeouts.

Although Silver head coach John Giefer was glad to see his team limit errors (one error) and wasn’t too upset with his team’s pitching, he said that his guys are going to need to get their bats to heat up the rest of the tournament.

“We didn’t come swinging the bat,” Giefer said. “Two hits, that’s what we had up there [scoreboard]. They [Post 950] didn’t hit the ball hard, but they hit it in the right spot. That’s sometimes the baseball gods, it is what it is. But they beat us, beat us pretty good. We’ve got to hit the ball if we’re going to play this weekend, we’ve got to hit better than that.”

Silver opens Day 2 of the JUMC at 11 a.m. Friday at Mueller Park against Prior Lake. Silver’s second game on Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m. against Luverne at Mueller.