Most spring season openers will be held this week, but the CCHS Panthers went head to head with the Sherman Tide last week.
The sun was out on the field in Seth, WV, but had little effect as winter temperatures kept an icy grip on the field. Hopefully, this week will be a little different, and all the teams will get opportunity to play as scheduled.
Friday evening was the season opener for the CCHS Panther baseball team, and it would prove to be a sketchy start for the young team. This is always a good game to open the season with; both teams came in unwilling to lose and seemingly equally matched in speed, but the big sticks for the Panthers stayed in the bag. The Panthers were the first to take cuts at the ball and get the early season bugs worked out. The Panthers looked good hitting the ball, but the ball was hitting the mitts of Sherman and the Panthers struggled to get runs on the board.
When the Panthers took the field, it was Matt Boggs up first on the hill. With his cannon loaded, Boggs went to work. Sherman scattered a couple of hits in the first inning but took off in the second. After that spurt of runs, Boggs was relieved by Andrew Adkins and Sherman scattered hits across the field and scored some runs. Adkins did a good job mixing the pitches up and looks like he will only get better as the season wears on. Aron Taylor came in to relieve Adkins and had a little trouble on the mound but soon settled in and pitched a decent game although Sherman had game momentum and was hard to pitch against.
The Tide seemed to be able to hit the ball no matter how it was pitched. The Panthers managed to put three runs on the boards, but it wasn’t enough as Sherman ended the Panther chances in the sixth inning when they scored one more run to give them the win with a ten-point spread. The final score was Clay 3, Sherman 13.
It wasn’t the best start for the Panthers but now that the first game is in the books, it will hopefully get better from this point. There are plenty of games left. The Panthers will be in a four game stretch this week with Nicholas coming to town Tuesday night followed by Webster away on March 19, Gilmer at home on March 21, and Braxton away on March 22. Get out and catch a game.
The Lady Panthers will open their season at Meadow Bridge on March 19 for a double header. The CCMS Lady Mustangs will open at home on March 18, while the CCMS Mustangs open up against Spencer away on March 18. Track will take their game on the road in Roane County on March 19th. Make sure you get a schedule and go to a few games this season to show your support of our youth.