In May 2021, then-Bowling Green sophomore pitcher Nate Kress threw 124 pitches over 10 innings as the Bobcats held on to defeat Anthony Wayne, 1-0, in Whitehouse.

AW went on to win the Northern Lakes League championship outright with their only loss coming to BG and Kress.

Fast forward to Tuesday night in BG, the now-junior Kress needed just 88 pitches as the Bobcats routed AW, 10-1, in both teams’ Northern Lakes League opener.

“This league is a buzzsaw and anytime you can get a victory it is a great day,” said BG coach Fred Riggs.

Last May, Kress struck out 12, walked two, and allowed just one hit, a single by Chase Saneholtz, who reached on a hard-hit ball to center field in the bottom of the sixth.

In Tuesday’s game, Kress struck out seven, walked one and allowed four hits and one run, but it was unearned. Saneholtz reached base three times but did not get a hit.

The Bobcats are 4-0 on the young season and have outscored opponents 36-11 in those four games. AW, under first year head coach Ryan Donley, falls to 1-5.

AW also put one of their best on the mound in junior Dom Carlson. However, this time the Bobcats brought their bats to support Kress.

Carlson held BG hitless through two innings, but in the third the Bobcats broke through for two runs and in the fourth BG plated six more runs as the bats kicked in, taking an early 8-1 lead.

Kress was grateful for his team’s offensive fireworks, and he added to it with a double and RBI, and scored after reaching on an error.

“All the work we did came down to practice, just putting the (pitching) machine at 95 (miles-per-hour), getting us ready for Dom, so we were ready,” Kress said.

“We weren’t expecting Dom, but by the third inning we were ready to go, and we started hitting and he got frustrated.”

Riggs said that has been his team’s modus operandi all season — starting slow at the plate and once things get started, it’s off to the races.

“We’ve been slow starting with our hitting, but all along, through four games we’ve been able to come out on the hitting side ahead of the other team,” Riggs said.

“I think if we do that more often than not, we are going to win, especially with Nate throwing a great game,” Riggs continued.

“He’s a competitor and he just wants to battle every game, but obviously we can’t do that (pitch him every game). He did a great job once again against Anthony Wayne.”

It was not always smooth sailing for Kress, but he had BG assistant coach Bob Schultz to fall back on when his mechanics were slipping.

Kress, a Bowling Green State University commit, started falling off the mound and pitching side-armed, so immediately Schultz, a former collegiate coach, made a visit to the mound.

“He’s been working with me since my sophomore year, so he usually knows what I’m doing when I’m pitching and struggling. He’s good at getting me back focused,” Kress said.

Offensively, BG senior Brady Gaines was 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and a stolen base, and also getting doubles were junior Brock Hastings and senior Ryan Jackson.

BG senior Cameron Deiter had two base hits and two RBIs, and on his other two plate appearances he reached on walks, scoring three times.

BG senior Brayden Clauson reached on a base hit and walk, senior Jimmy LaForce reached twice on walks, and sophomore Braden Loomis reached three times on walks, scoring once.

For AW, junior Mitch Harder had two base hits in three at-bats and senior Noah Sample and junior Jack Behnfeldt also had base hits.