On an offensive night for both teams, the Panther fell short by about 6 inches.  With two runners on base and trailing by 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th, pinch-hitter Jeff Roby drove a pitch deep to centerfield.  Fontbonne's centerfielder raced back to the wall and made a terrific catch to rob what was close to being a game-tying homerun for Roby.

 

Though the team fell behind early in the ballgame, they continued to grind out good quality at-bats.  Slowly but surely the Panthers battled their way back into the game.  Sophomore Alan Cheatham led the way with 3 hits and a grand slam homerun to deep centerfield.  Captains' Spencer Brown and Matt Bowman each had 3 hits.  Junior Jeff Strickland had 4 hits, while sophomore's Samuel Thomas and Justin MacDonald each had a multiple hit day as well.

 

Sophomore pitcher Robbie Nickell came out of the bullpen and pitched exceptionally, keeping the Panthers within striking distance.

 

The team plays again tomorrow against Fontbonne on the road for a doubleheader starting at 11:00am in St. Louis.