Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 DANVILE, KY. – The Principia Panthers traveled to Danville, KY, on Friday to prepare for their season-opening series with the Centre Colonels. The games were played on Saturday afternoon at the beautiful, well-kept, Gary Wright Field.
These were the first games of the 2016 season for the Panthers. Though they played much improved baseball as the day progressed, the Panthers ultimately dropped both games. The Colonels took game one by a score of 6-0, and then went on to take game two from the Panthers, 1-0.
Game OneSawyer Grow received the start on the mound for the Panthers in the first game. He did a great job through the first three innings, as he had pinpoint command and consistently kept the Colonels off-balance. Grow allowed just one (unearned) run through his first three innings of work. However, his stellar command dissipated in the fourth frame, when he walked three, which led to four Colonel runs. Overall, Grow went four innings, allowing five hits, three earned runs, and striking out one.
Parker Tibbetts relieved Grow and did an outstanding job. Tibbetts tossed four innings, allowing just two hits and one walk. He struck out seven and did not surrender an earned run in his outing. The Colonels never really hit either Panther pitcher particularly hard; however, (five) walks and (five) errors given up by the Panthers were what led to most of the opposition's runs in game one.
Offensively, the Panthers collected six hits, with
Liam Foster leading the way with a pair of singles in his two plate appearances.
Zach Grennie smashed a double, while
Jake Kearney,
Aleq McMullin, and
Parker Tibbetts, each had base hits as well. Unfortunately for the Panthers, these hits did not all come at once, and they were unable to manufacture any runs of their own in game one.
Game TwoAleq McMullin was on the hill for the Panthers in the second game. Though he gave up three walks in the opening frame, he managed to escape without any damage. Once McMullin found his rhythm in the second inning, he was virtually unhittable. Aside from the walks, McMullin pitched brilliantly. He threw five innings of scoreless ball, while striking out five along the way. The Panthers also played much sounder defense in the second game, committing only one error.
Jake Kearney entered the sixth inning on the mound for the Panthers and did a great job, as he threw nothing but strikes. A leadoff single, followed by an overthrow (the same play), proved to be costly, as that runner ended up scoring the game-winning run for the Colonels.
On offense, the Panthers lone hit was a line drive single by catcher,
Bryce Murray, in the top half of the second inning. In the two games combined, the Panthers struck out 24 times, which is too many, if they hope to produce runs on a consistent basis. However, when the Panthers made contact, they hit the ball hard, which was good to see.
Overall, the Panthers competed well this weekend and have a great foundation to build off of as the season progresses. The pitching in both games was most impressive, and the defense was far improved in the second game. At this point in the season, it seems natural for the pitching to be ahead of the bats. The Panthers will work hard to hit their stride offensively and get the bats going in their next game. There were many good things to take away from the Panthers' opening series though! The Panthers next play on Tuesday, March 1, in St. Louis, when they will be competing with Washington University at 2:30 central time.
