GRC Champion Pattonsburg Panthers: top row, Coach Jeffrey Epperly, Cameron Jones, Kaden de Jong, Cooper Teel, Dylan McCrary, Zane Reed and Sam Coin; front, Mason Weller, Gage Iddings, Dalton Sperry and Tim Wilson.
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The Pattonsburg Panthers baseball team won its first Grand River Conference championship with a 7-6 extra inning victory over previously undefeated Putnam County on May 6 in the GRC East-West matchup. The team record currently sits at 10-1.
The Panthers got off to an early lead after Cameron Jones hit a 3-run home run in the first inning. Putnam then came back and tied the game 3-3.
The game remained tied and went into extra innings before the Panthers scored two runs on a hit by Cameron Jones and another on a single by Kaden de Jong. Jones would then score another run on a passed ball that extended the Panthers lead to 7-3.
Putnam County didn’t go down without out a fight as they scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th before grounding out for the final out with the tie and go ahead runners on second and third base.
The Panthers pitching effort was strong against a potent Putnam Country lineup with seniors Kaden de Jong and Cameron Jones splitting the pitching duties and giving the Midgets their first loss of the year.
The Panthers are set to head into the Class 1 District 15 tournament with only one loss if they can make it through a makeup game on May 13 against South Nodaway with Jefferson.
The Panthers also chalked up a win against St. Joseph Christian, 15-3, on April 29.
The Panthers will face South Nodaway with Jefferson (Conception) in a makeup game at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 at Barnard. The district tournament will then start on Monday, May 17.
Tri-County with Gallatin Baseball notches two decisive wins
The Mustangs closed out the regular season decisively with an 11-0 senior night destruction of Trenton on May 10 and a 12-2 thrashing of Grundy County on May 11.
Gage Wright pitched a one-hit shutout Monday (vs. Trenton) plus hitting a home run. On Tuesday (vs. Grundy) he was on base four times, scored four runs, and stole five bases including home twice. The senior standout is closing his final season with a flourish.
Junior Garrett Skinner is another player who continues to impress. “Garrett is a humble young man who plays with total unselfishness and is a tremendous example of what the combination of hard work and talent can do,” said Coach John Roberts. “We are playing our best baseball at the right time. I am extremely proud of these guys. We head into post season play surging at the best time of the year!”
With the wins the Mustangs sit at 8-5 (a school best in baseball) and are seeded second in Class 3 District 16 Play at Carrollton. The Mustangs play South Harrison on Monday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Carrollton.
The team earlier suffered losses to Southwest with Tina-Avalon, 2-8, on May 4, and to North Harrison, 4-5 on May 5.