Paragould, AR – Today's double header between the Panthers and Pioneers wrapped up their four game series. Crowley's Ridge on the hunt for their first victory of the season and Principia looking to keep adding to their win column. Both the Pioneer and the Panther starters looked sharp from the first pitch setting the tone for the game. The Panthers struck first in the second inning. Stephen Strong led off the inning with a hit by pitch. Two singles by Sean Hannan and Jake Kearney pushed Strong across to take the 1-0 lead. Alex Stamos, facing the minimum through two, was cruising as his fastball showed some life. Bargmann started the third inning off with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. He would score on a ground ball by Zach Grennie pushing the lead to two. Stamos gave up two singles in the third but would escape unharmed. In the fourth the Pioneers would pick up their first run and had the bases loaded with one out threatning to score more. Stamos induced the line drive double play to get out of it without surrendering another run. With one out in the 5th, a double scored the runner from first as both converging outfielders slipped by the ball in the right centerfield. The next batter singled to left and the runner was thrown out at the plate by Parker Davidson keeping the score tied. The next inning, on a ball hit off the wall, Davidson again kept the Panthers in the game with help from a relay throw by Hannan to gun down the go-ahead run. The score remained tied until the bottom of the 7th. With one out and a runner on second, the Pioneers successfully completed a sacrifice bunt to move the winning run to second. An intentional walk and hit batsmen loaded the bases with two outs. A soft line drive over the second baseman's head gave the Crowley's Ridge Pioneers their first victory of the season in walk off fashion.
After a disappointing loss in game one, the Panthers quickly set their sights on game two and came out with some fire. They batted through the lineup in the first scoring three runs. Game two starter, Jake Kearney, cruised through the first. The Panthers' offence chased the Pioneer starter early just two batters into the second. They tacked on another three runs in the second and two in the third to extend their lead to 8-0. Kearney provided a second solid outing and the only blemish on his second outing came after a leadoff walk in the 6th came around to score. Aleq McMullin had an outstanding second game picking up a team leading 5 RBIs. The team's lone freshman, Luke McCutcheon, picked up his first career plate appearance in the sixth and drew a walk. Jeff Ross, senior first baseman, just joining the team after the basketball season, found himself at first in the last few innings. Catcher, Brett Huntley caught the 7th inning and worked well with Nathan Wood who came in to pitch the final frame. All said and done, the Panthers, picked up their 4th win of the season in a big 14-1 win.
He Said It:
"We had a couple strong outings on the mound today with [Alex] Stamos and [Jake] Kearney each giving us 6 or more innings. McMullin and Kearney both swung hot bats today as well. Sometimes things just don't go your way, like in game one, but I was glad to see the guys bounce back quickly and get after it in game two. It was good to see [Brett] Huntley, [Nathan] Wood, and [Luke McCutcheon] McCutch get opportunities as well." –Head Coach Chris Marston
Up Next:
The Panthers face Robert Morris – Springfield University in a 4 game away and home series starting Friday March 9th 1pm/3pm at RMSU and at home March 10th 1pm/3pm for their home opener.
