WATERTOWN, WI – The Principia Baseball team traveled up to Wisconsin to take on Maranatha Baptist University. The Panthers had swept the Sabercats when they played a three game series in Elsah back in February. Principia was looking for another sweep on Tuesday while Maranatha was searching for their first win of the season.
Josh Dement led off game one with his first collegiate home run to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. After Cole Christensen showed off his speed with an infield single, Ryan D'Amico singled to left to put two on with no out. Maranatha's starter then settled in and struck out the side, but not before a stolen base and wild pitch put the Panthers up 2-0. The Sabercats responded in the bottom of the first with three runs of their own on one hit.
In the second inning, Gavin Matchell started things off with a single, Skyler Stock was hit by a pitch, and Dement singled to score Matchell and even things up 3-3. Christensen walked to load the bases and D'Amico launched a grand slam to left. The home run was his sixth on the season and put the Panthers ahead by 4. Principia starter Micah Cook threw a scoreless second overcoming an error and stranding the runner at second.
The score would remain the same until the top of the fourth when Dement doubled with two outs, and D'Amico drove an RBI double to left to check off three of the four boxes for the cycle. Braxton Ramsey singled in D'Amico and then scored on a Kailis Mayo double to extend the Panther lead to 7. Then in the fifth, Matchell singled and Stock reached on an error to chase the Sabercats' starter. Dement doubled and Christensen walked to load the bases for D'Amico, who drove the ball to right and motored in to third for a triple to complete the historic cycle.
Later in the fifth inning, Rat Mean picked up a pinch hit single. Then with the bases loaded, Salvador Flores was called on to pinch hit and drove a deep fly to left for the Panthers' second grand slam of the game. Cook finished things out going all seven innings, giving up one earned run with five strikeouts and one walk as Principia took game one, 23-5.
The Sabercats would take an early lead in game two as they scored four in the first and four more in the the second to go up 8-0. The Panthers were determined not to have letdown after their offensive explosion in game one, and Dean Wood was Principia's spark in the third inning. Wood led off with a triple to left and scored on a wild pitch to get Principia on the board. Then with two outs, after the Panthers rallied for three more runs, Wood came up with the bases loaded and hit a bases-clearing double to cut the deficit to just one.
Ethan Booth entered in the bottom of the fourth and allowed one run after a lead off triple, but he escaped the inning without allowing any more damage. The Panthers went down in order in the top of the fifth. Booth again pitched out of trouble throwing up a zero after Maranatha loaded the bases with a double and two walks. Down by two with two outs in the top of the sixth, Ramsey and Mayo both singled. A passed ball scored one, and then Ben Perrine hit a clutch single on a full count to tie the game. After a stolen base and a balk, Matchell then hit another clutch single up the middle to score Perrine and give the Panthers a 10-9 lead.
Booth pitched a scoreless sixth with two Ks, and then Principia added three insurance runs in the seventh thanks to a Dement RBI double, a D'Amico RBI single, a Ramsey double, and a Mayo RBI ground out. Booth shut the door again in the final frame as the Panthers finished off the sweep with a 13-9 victory.
Stat of the Game: Ryan D'Amico's eight runs batted in during his cycle in the first game is a new program record for RBIs in a single game. The three home runs (two of which were grand slams) hit today give the Panthers 30 on the season, tying the team's single-season home run record set back in 2009.
Marston's Minute: "It was great to come out and see the bats and pitching really come through in game one. Josh (5-6) and Ryan (4-4) were both seeing the ball well, and Cookie did well overcoming a couple errors. After a big win, we got down early in game two, but the bats came through again. We had to battle as things didn't go our way, but we persisted and didn't play panicked. Some great two out at bats gave us a lead, and I loved the way Booth pitched and finished for us."
Up Next: The Panthers will head to Arkansas to face Lyon College on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.
