ELSAH, IL – The Panthers Baseball team was back in action this weekend for their first home series of 2024 with three games against Kalamazoo College from Michigan.
Coming off a stellar 31-11 record last season, the Hornets are picked to finish first in their conference (MIAA), and they jumped out to an early 8 run lead in Friday's opener. Ethan Booth received the nod for Principia in game one, and after a tough first inning, he settled in and threw his best inning in the third as he got the top of their order to go 1-2-3. The Hornets ultimately took game one by a final of 17-0 in seven innings. DH Braxton Ramsey and C Ryan D'Amico finished with two hits each, while Skyler Stock and Josh Dement each had one hit.
Micah Cook made the start in game one of Saturday's doubleheader and snared a line drive right back up the middle to pick up the very first out. The Panther middle infield looked solid turning a double play to end the first with Cook facing the minimum. In the second, D'Amico threw out a would be base stealer, followed by helping complete an unconventional double play by backing up first on a double play attempt and throwing out the batter trying to advance to second on the wild throw.
The Hornets plated three in the third before Nick Dolci entered with the bases loaded to strand the runners by inducing a flyout to right. After Kalamazoo stretched their lead to five by scoring a run in the fourth and fifth, the Panthers struck for the first time in the series in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs and runners on first and second, Ben Perrine drove a breaking ball over the left field wall to cut the lead to two. After Dolci threw a scoreless sixth, D'Amico and Gavin Matchell hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the inning to knot the game up 5-5 and send a huge roar through Cheatham Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, a lead off walk in the seventh would prove to be costly. With two outs, a single and double gave Kalamazoo the lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Charlie Reiss entered the game with the bases loaded in the seventh and pitched two and third scoreless innings to keep Principia in the game, despite the upset bid falling just short.
In game three, the Panthers ran out of steam in the chilly weather. The Hornets scored 20 runs on 12 hits as Principia pitchers struggled with control, handing out 15 walks and 7 hit batsmen. Matchell picked up the lone hit for the Panthers on a two strike single up the middle.
Stat of the Series: Ryan D'Amico threw out two of four base stealers this weekend. When asked how he thought the weekend went, D'Amico said, "As a team, we made plays and kept the energy high the entire series. To compete against a good team like Kalamazoo and get some big hits when they mattered felt great. We are a young and powerful team, and today was a confidence boost that will up us win games as we move into conference play."
Marston's Minute: "This weekend was a good test for us. Kalamazoo is a really well-run program, and we were able to see we can compete. When you play top competition, it magnifies the things you need to work on, but it also gives us a chance to respond to adversity. We didn't hang our heads after big loss on Friday, and we came out and competed in game two. Hopefully we can learn and grow from this series and come out even stronger next weekend."
Up Next: The Panthers return in action for a three game series at home against Maranatha Baptist starting Friday, March 1 at 5:00 pm, followed by a double header starting at 12:00 pm on Saturday.
