Monday's Prep Baseball: Key, early SIRR win for Panthers

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Road wins are never easy in prep baseball, especially when it comes to the River-to-River Conference's rugged Mississippi Division.

Monday afteroon at Kiwanis Field, Pinckneyville won on a diamond that's often all too unkind for visiting teams.

The streaking Panthers (5-5) won for the fourth straight time, handling host Anna-Jonesboro 6-2 in the SIRR opener for both squads.

Pinckneyville continues on the road Tuesday, going to Nashville.

A-J's marks are 7-3 and 0-1.

"It was big to go on the road to get the first conference win, as A-J is not an easy place to win," Panthers coach Alan Engelhardt said. "However, the road doesn't get any easier as we head to Nashville next."

Pinckneyville went ahead for good with a three-run second inning and then added a pair of key insurance tallies in the sixth.

Out-hitting the Wildcats 12-6, Pinckneyville had a 3-for-4 effort at the plate from Landon Chandler with Drew Dudek, Matthew Nichols and Adam Barczewski enjoying two-hit days.

PCHS also had run-scoring safeties from Michael Rakers and Brandon Long (double). Nichols knocked in two runs.

Sophomore lefty C.J. Opp took the pitching win, going the distance with a six-hitter. Opp fanned six.

" We did a nice job of coming out and playing a solid all-around game today, " Engelhardt said. "At the plate, we attacked the ball and did a nice job of hitting line drives. In the field we played very solid, not giving Anna Jonesboro free outs to work with. And on the mound, C.J. Opp did a really nice job of pitching to contact and using his defense. It seemed as if every time C.J. needed a pitch, he made it ."

PCHS 6, A-J 2

PCHS 031 020 0-6 12 1

A-J 010 100 0-2 6 2

Opp and Barczewski. Smith, Easterly (6) and Flamm. WP-Opp. LP-Smith. TOP HITTERS-PCHS: Dudek 2-4, Chandler 3-4, Rakers 1-4 (RBI), Nichols 2-3 (2 RBI), Shute 1-4, Barczewski 2-3 (RBI), Long 1-3 (2B, RBI).