Panthers overcome Cy-Woods 5-4!

Sophomore Dalton Scherer pitched 6 complete innings and faced one batter in the 7^th leading the Panthers to a 5-4 victory over Cy Woods Thursday night.  Scherer struck out 10, walked 4 and allowed only 3 hits before Abdul Houck took over with a runner at first and no outs in the top of the 7^th.  An uncharacteristic Panther error allowed two base runners to score, tying the score at 4 each before the Panthers last at bat where a sac fly by Reid Frazier sent pinch runner Alex Hass home for the win.

In the first inning, Scherer faced only 4 batters, striking out 2 and walking one.  A great throw by catcher Ryan Moon to Tyler Williams at first caught the Cy Woods runner off base and retired the side bringing the Panthers to the plate.  Cather Ryan Moon walked and was left stranded as the Panther flew out, popped up and hit a hard shot back to the pitcher for the 3^rd out of the inning.

Cy woods scored first in the top of the 2^nd when a Panther error put the first batter on base.  Cy Woods stole 2^nd and 3^rd and eventually went home on a wild pitch.  Two strike outs and a routine line drive to 2^nd baseman Dylan Rocka to Williams at first ended the inning.   The Panthers remained scoreless in the 2^nd when Adam Lemmon was stranded at third after reaching on an error to right, a stolen base and a wild throw moved him to third.

Scherer battled in the 3^rd striking out the first batter and walking the second who eventually scored Cy Woods’ second run of the game.  Two walks and a base hit loaded the bases for Cy Woods.  Scherer dug deep and the Panther defense helped out.    Tyler Williams ran down a foul popup off first and an Adam Lemmon catch in right ended Cy Woods hopes of scoring in the Panther jam. 

The Panthers came to bat in the bottom of the third behind 2 to 0.  Zach Schulze beat out a dropped third strike to take first and stole second to get in scoring position.  A 2 base hit by Ryan Moon scored Schulze and Pinch Runner Alex Hass took over at second.  A single by Nolan Holland moved Hass to third and Holland stole 2^nd putting both runners in scoring position.  A 2 base hit by Tyler Williams scored both Hass and Holland putting the Panthers ahead 3-2.

Cy Woods started the fourth inning with a shot to second where the Rocka – Williams relay beat the runner for the first out.  A single put a Cy Woods runner on first and Schere struck out the third batter.  The top of the inning ended on a batter interference call when Moon threw to 2^nd to stop the steal.     With the Panthers at bat in the bottom of the fourth,  Matt Sloan led off with a walk and a missed fake bunt sign ended in a double play taking out the batter and runner for Oak in the 4^th followed by a 4-3 play by Cy Woods ending the Panther inning with only 3 batters up.

Scherer went 1-2-3 in the fifth striking out all three Cy Woods batters and the Panthers came to bat holding the lead.  Dylan Rocka’s double to left started the inning but the Panthers left him stranded with 3 consecutive outs. 

Cy Woods came back to the plate and started the inning with a Scherer strike out.  Rocka scooped a ground ball and threw to Williams at first notching the second out and an awesome diving catch by centerfielder Nolan Holland ended the inning quickly.   The Panthers faced a new pitcher in the bottom of the 6^th where a double to deep center by Tyler Williams started the bats off for Oak.  A passed ball moved Williams to 3^rd and ready to score.  A strike out and fly out to center racked up two outs for the Panthers when Blake Ashford walked to put another runner on base.  A single by Zach Schulze scored Williams and moved Ashford to 3^rd but the inning ended with only one additional run for Oak. 

The wheels fell off a little for Oak when an error combined with a sac fly scored 2 for CyWoods.  Houck struck out the next batter and catcher Ryan Moon jumped on a bunt and threw to Williams to end the inning.  Oak went into the bottom of the 7^th tied at 4. 

Moon started the inning with a walk and pinch runner Alex Hass took over for him at first.  Nolan Holland’s 2 base hit down the third base line put him on first and Hass at third where a sac fly by Reid Frazier drove Hass home for the win.  It was a nail biter!!  Good luck tomorrow guys.