DAVENPORT, FL – The Principia baseball team opened its spring break trip to central Florida with a doubleheader against St. Norbert College and the University of Minnesota Morris on Sunday. The Panthers lost a tight 8-5 game to St. Norbert before falling to Minnesota Morris in 8 innings, 18-6.
Game 1 – St. Norbert 8, Principia 5
Principia matched St. Norbert with 13 hits, received multi-hit performances from six players, and rallied late with two runs in the ninth before the comeback came up short. The Green Knights used a three-run fifth inning and a three-run sixth to create separation after the Panthers tied the game 2-2 in the fourth. Principia continued to pressure offensively – reaching base 18 times – but stranded runners in seven different innings.
Principia starter
Koye Calzada kept the game scoreless through three innings, working around a runner at third in the second thanks to a strikeout and caught stealing. In the top of the fourth, the Panthers strung together four hits to take a 2–0 lead.
Dean Wood and
Gage Vanlandingham each had RBI singles to score
Cooper Martinez and
Johnny Garcia.
After St. Norbert took a 5-2 lead in the fifth, another RBI single by Vanlandingham trimmed the lead to 5-3 in the top of the sixth. Down 8-3 entering the ninth, Principia mounted a final rally.
Kailis Mayo doubled to put two in scoring position.
Gavin Litchauer singled home pinch runner
Dawson Short, and
Justice Fortson followed with an RBI single to score Mayo. The Panthers brought the tying run to the plate before St. Norbert recorded the final out.
Game 2 – Minnesota Morris 18, Principia 6
Principia produced 11 hits in game two, including extra-base knocks from
Johnny Garcia,
Dean Wood, and
Cole Christensen, but an early 7-0 deficit and a late surge by Minnesota Morris proved too much to overcome.
The Cougars struck for five runs in the first, highlighted by a grand slam off starter
Tyler Baggiore. Minnesota Morris added single runs in the second and third innings, stretching the lead to 7-0. The Panthers created traffic on the bases in the first four innings – including a triple by
Cole Christensen and a double by
Johnny Garcia – but they were unable to cash in.
The Panthers' breakthrough came in the bottom of the fifth, when they put up five runs on four hits.
Rat Mean and
Josh Dement began the inning with singles, then
Dean Wood doubled to left center to score Mean. Garcia then singled to left to bring home Dement, followed by a
Kailis Mayo sacrifice fly to score Wood. With two on, a ground ball from
Luis Gil and a throwing error allowed two more runs to score, closing the gap to 7-5.
Minnesota Morris answered with two runs in the sixth, four in the seventh, and five in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Doubleheader by the Numbers
- Principia Hit Leaders:
- Principia RBI Leaders:
- Principia K Leaders: (15 strikeouts)
- Principia Innings Pitched:
Next Up
Principia returns to action on Tuesday with meetings against two schools from New York, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) and Fredonia State, to wrap up its Florida trip.
