Panthers extend sectional to 10 innings but not beyond

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The PHS baseball managed to extend the sectional game but could not extend their season, falling at home to Father Tolton Regional Catholic, 5-4, in 10 innings Tuesday.

The Panthers were on their way to being shut out by the Trailblazers before going ahead 3-2 in the top of the sixth.

Father Tolton tied the game in the bottom of the inning and it went into extra innings.

It looked like the Panthers would prevail when they scored a run in the top of the 10th, but the Trailblazers came back and walked off with the win on two-out, two run single.

Adam Goodwin, a junior outfielder, set himself up to be the Panther hero when, with two outs in the 10th, he drove an 0-2 pitch off the base of the fence in left-center field for a triple and driving in Bennett Stice with the lead run.

That came after Goodwin capped a three-run rally with a perfect squeeze bunt to score Ryan McKeown with the lead run in the top of the sixth.

But Zane Meyers, pitching in his fourth inning of relief, quickly got into trouble in the bottom of the inning when he walked the Trailblazers ninth- spot batter, Maxwell Rodhouse.

Meyers struck out the next batter, but Rodhouse then stole second and moved to third on an errant throw to second base.

 

That forced the Panthers to play in on the infield to cover a potential game-deciding play at the plate. 

Unfortunately for Palmyra, Father Tolton’s Nathaniel Kerbs hit a grounder up the middle which made it into the outfield, scoring the tying run, before stealing second as the potential winning run.

Meyers then struck out the Trailblazers’ third-place batter, Logan Thompson to get to within one out of sending the game into the 11th inning.

But, the next batter, Johan Sarabia, drove a single into center, and Thompson raced home to set off the Trailblazer’s winning celebration.

The game was a pitchers duel for the first five innings as Stice, Palmyra’s ace, and Father Tolton’s Sarabia, who shut out the Panthers through five on one hit, a second inning single along with three walks while striking out 12.

Stice was actually more impressive, no-hitting the Trailblazers through four and striking out 11, while walking three.

However, a walk and two errors gave Father Tolton a first inning run and they added a fifth-inning run with their first two hits of the game.

Sarabia got into trouble starting the bottom of the sixth when he gave up lead-off singles by Meyers and Wade Begley.

Sarabia was relieved with one out, and the next pitcher promptly gave up RBI singles by Nolyn Richards and Alex Loman to tie the game.

Then, after a wild pitch put runners on second and third, Goodwin got the sign from Coach Mark Loman, and on a 2-2 count, laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score the lead run. 

Stice got his 12th strikeout in the bottom of the sixth after the first two batters reached on an error and a single, and in the process, reached his pitch limit and was relieved by Landyn Smith.

The Trailblazers then hit three straight singles, but the Panthers held the damage to one game-tying run by nabbing two base-runners in the process.

Palmyra had a runner reach third with two outs in the eighth, but could not score.

Father Tolton base runners reached third in both the eighth and ninth, but were also stymied.

Father Tolton went on to lose in Thursday’s quarterfinals to Elsberry, 6-4.

Elsberry advanced to the Class 3 championships to be played in Ozark Wednesday and Thursday. 

Tuesday’s sectional game was the final one for Palmyra seniors Stice, Begley, Meyers, Brody Lehenbauer, Chance Davis and Quade Plunkett,