KIMBERLY – The flags at Sunset Park in Kimberly were blowing without a crease Tuesday night and Kimberly pitcher Brad Schrieber and teammate Colten Haegle took advantage at the plate, as both smacked home runs to right center field.

Schreiber also got it done on the mound where he held Oshkosh North to one hit in his five innings on the bump to lead the Papermakers to a 9-3 victory in both teams’ Fox Valley Association opener.

“I was just waiting back and trying to hit it mid to opposite field,” Schreiber said. “I didn’t get the best hit on it, but the wind was blowing and helped it out. I wanted to hit two on the screws each game. Didn’t do that today, but I helped the team.”

The reigning FVA champion Papermakers (2-1) went up 5-0 in the third inning after plating three runs in the second inning and got Haegle’s homer in the third.

“You need to get guys in when there’s guys in position,” Kimberly coach Ryan McGinnis said. “It helps build that approach at the plate.”

Meanwhile, the Spartans (2-2) couldn’t figure out Schreiber who struck out eight and walked just one and allowed one hit – a double by Blake Conger in the second – before moving over to first base in the fifth.

“He throws the ball hard and his curveball is a good late-breaker,” North coach Troy Schaefer said. “He mixes them up well and he’s not afraid of hitters.”

“We’ve got to be better than what we were today if we’re going to compete with them.”

While it was the first conference game for both teams, McGinnis was delighted by No. 9 hitter Tony Lamers who when 2 for 3 with two RBI and a run scored. He was not, however, happy about the eight strikeouts his team had.

“We still have a lot of work to do one through nine in terms of our approach and we will,” McGinnis said. “This was just our first conference game, so we have time, but not much.”

Notes: Conger gave up six runs, all earned, as North’s starting pitcher and got the loss. … Lamers was the only player with multiple hits in the game. … Brandon Lalk had a two-run homer in the sixth when Schreiber came off the mound as part of the Spartans’ three-run sixth.

OSHKOSH NORTH…….000 003 0—3 6 2

KIMBERLY………………..131 022 x—9 8 0

Pitching: ON—Blake Conger (L) 4+IP, 5 K, 4 BB, 6 R, 6 ER; Josh Uhen 2 IP, 3 K, 3 BB, 3 R, 3 ER; KIM—Brad Schreiber (W, 2-1) 5 IP, 8 K, BB, H; Mitch Weber IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER; Will Randerson IP, K, BB. Leading hitters: ON—Josh Uhen 1-4, 2B, R, RBI, SB; Brandon Lalk 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI; Blair Davis 1-3, R, 2B. KIM—Tony Lamers 2-3, 2 RBI, R; Brad Schreiber 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R.