Senior Zac Repinski belted the Lakers' first home run of the season, a solo shot in the second inning, while senior Kyle Schmidt finished 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.

Schmidt's two-run double in the fourth inning put the Lakers up 8-0.

Gabbard allowed five hits and struck out five to get the win. Senior Jon Houston pitched a scoreless inning in relief, while senior Skylar Pumper allowed two unearned runs in his one inning of work.

Repinski finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored. Senior Tyler Edwards was 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Junior Nick Vaage went 2 for 4 with a double, two runs and an RBI.

Houston also had a double and an RBI. The Lakers led 4-0 after two innings, scoring three times in the bottom of the first.

Meanwhile, in the loss to Eden Prairie, the Lakers gave up three runs in the fourth inning and was down 4-0. Vaage took the loss, working 3 1/3 innings and allowing six hits, four runs and three walks.

Senior Tony Loehr pitched 3 2/3 innings in relief, allowing two unearned runs with one strikeout.

Senior Austin Truso went 2 for 3 with a double. Repinski also had a double.

The victory over Apple Valley was also the first for new Lakers coach Greg Nesbitt, who took over for Ryan Schwertman, who stepped down last July after three years.

Nesbitt coached the Burnsville American Legion baseball team for nine summers, guiding the Cobras to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C. in his last season last summer.

Nesbitt is the third Lakers’ coach in the past 46 years. For 42 years, Darwin Busselman guided Prior Lake, but the Hall of Famer retired following the 2010 spring. Busselman had 535 career wins, which ranks No. 4 on Minnesota’s all-time wins list.

The Lakers will return the field April 14 at Lakeville South and is home April 16 to face Eagan. Both SSC games start at 4:15 p.m.

To see more photos of the Lakers' loss to Eden Prairie, go to Scoreboard's Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.777585248933494.1073742097.197190936972931&type=3.