Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 |
Box Score 3 ELSAH, ILL. – After surrendering a 16-2 defeat on Friday night, the Principia Panthers played their sharpest baseball of the season to take the final two games of their weekend series versus the Beavers of Blackburn College on Saturday afternoon.
Game 1The Panthers fell behind 5-0 after the first inning and were never able to bounce back from the early deficit. Blackburn scored 16 runs on 11 hits. Principia walked seven Blackburn batters throughout the evening while also committing three costly errors. The Panthers, on the other hand, scored just two runs on six hits.
The only Panther who had a multi-hit game was sophomore catcher,
Logan McDowell.
David McClelland did a nice job in relief as he pitched a scoreless inning and struck out one as well. To put it bluntly, Friday night's game was very sloppy and was one of the Panthers' least impressive performances of the season.
Game 2The beauty of baseball is that each game begins with a fresh slate. The Panthers were able to shift the momentum of the series by taking the middle game, 6-3. The Panthers scored six runs on nine hits while committing just one error in the field. The Beavers scored three runs on five hits and committed two errors.
Gavin Thomas tossed this game and went the distance, pitching all seven innings. He allowed five hits and three walks. He struck out 10 and kept the Beavers off balance consistently throughout the ballgame. He did a masterful job on the mound all afternoon and worked his way out of a few critical jams in the later innings. In fact, he struck out the conference's leading hitter, Matt Mokriakow, who represented the game-tying run. Thomas froze Mokriakow and struck him out on a full count curveball to end the game in dramatic fashion.
The Panthers played very solid defensive and their bats came back to life as well.
Gavin Thomas,
Christian Thomas,
Aleq McMullin, and
Logan McDowell each contributed with two hits apiece.
Gavin Thomas and McMullin each had a pair of RBIs as well.
The Panthers were trailing the Beavers 2-1 after two innings. However, the Panthers answered by scoring five runs in the top half of the third inning and never looked back. This was a true team victory, as everyone on the team made significant contributions in one way or another, and it was the first game of the year where the energy level was consistently high and positive each inning. The uplifted atmosphere and team chemistry transferred into the third game of the series as well.
Game 3The Panthers carried the momentum and positive energy into the third and final game of the series. They scored six runs on eight hits and again committed just one error. Contrarily, the Beavers scored four runs on five hits and made three errors.
Dallen Russell was the starting pitcher in the series finale and pitched exceptionally well. Russell provided the Panthers with six innings of quality pitching. He allowed a measly two hits, walked four batters, and struck out nine.
Offensively the Panthers received two hits each from the second, third, and fourth hitters respectively –
Christian Thomas,
Gavin Thomas, and
Hunter Mehring. Mehring also had two RBIs on the game.
The Panthers made the routine plays in the field and also made a couple of outstanding "Web Gems" interspersed throughout the nine innings of play.
Bucky Brewer came in and pitched the seventh inning. He allowed two hits, one earned run, while striking one.
Aleq McMullin pitched the eighth and ninth innings for the Panthers and allowed just one run on one hit and one walk, while also striking out one batter.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Blackburn's speedster, Vinnie Birk, lofted a ball into shallow left field that looked as though it was going to fall for a base hit.
Parker Davidson had other ideas, though. Davidson got a great jump on the ball and raced in from left field without missing a beat and wound up making a spectacular diving grab, narrowly avoiding a collision with shortstop,
Christian Thomas, to end the ballgame. It seemed like a most appropriate way to clinch the game, in exciting fashion, just as the prior game had concluded.
The Panthers played much cleaner, crisper baseball today. There was a sense of childlike joy and freedom that was evidenced for the first time in a long time this afternoon, which was great to witness.
Both wins this afternoon were complete team efforts, with each individual carrying out a unique and important role. The energy, focus, and enthusiasm on the bench in particular was unparalleled to any game(s) the rest of the year. The Panthers will look to stay hot and play solid baseball in their next contest(s), which is a doubleheader this Tuesday, April 7, at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. against the Westminster College Blue Jays.
