By Allen Hamrick
With the season winding down, the Panther baseball team was smoking the diamond and kicking some Astroturf. They went 3 for 1 this week and are getting back on track. They handed Braxton and Poca their butts and a bus pass out of Clay winning all three games.
Joel Elliott took the hill for the Panthers in the first game slinging so much English the Eagles had a hard time understanding it. Elliott was getting his sea legs for the match when the Eagles got on the board quick notching a run. However, the Panthers answered those bats with some of their own aluminum ash. Once Elliott was in his grove, the Eagles slipped back into their nest. The Panthers got their hands on two runs in the first and never looked back, winning the game 10-3.
Next on the chopping block was Poca who came squaring up like banty roosters for a double header against the Panthers. The Panthers sent the hard throwing Ayden Brown to the hill against them, and after the Dots scored four runs in the first inning, and that was it. Brown went downtown and shut them down. Panther pitching and defense took over and shut down any offense the Dots could muster. Panther offense started rocking the bats and scored runs in every inning making the final score Panthers 8, Dots 4. The Dots gave it a college try in the second game, but they should have thrown in the white towel and saved themselves some lunch money. They went up against the Collins brothers with Noah Collins slinging first then brother Cooper to finish off the match. The Dots was celebrating their one run in the 1st inning when the whole chicken coop went berserk as the Panthers started swinging ash. By the end of the 4th inning, the Dots had enough and the game was called after the Panthers smacked home plate 21 times making the final score 21-1 Panthers.
The Panthers hit the road to St. Mary’s and after a long bus ride and three wins under their belts, this game would be tough to win. The Panthers had the lead in the 6th inning 2-1 before St. Mary’s added three in the bottom of the 6th. The Panthers couldn’t answer in the top of the 7th and lost the game 2-4. This week was some much needed wins for the Panthers as the season is quickly coming to an end with just a handful of games left to play. The Panthers will have two games at home this week against Capitol on Monday and SCHS on Friday. They will be on the road to Roane County on the Thursday night. Come out and catch a game.
