Wednesday's prep baseball: Improving Panthers romp to mid-week win
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Pinckneyville Community High School's baseball team kept the momentum of its mid-season surge steaming right along Wednesday, short-gaming Trico 11-1 at Rigdon Field.
The Panthers are 10-7 and host Anna-Jonesboro Friday afternoon.
"We are really starting to a better job of hitting the ball where its pitched," PCHS coach Alan Engelhardt said. "And with that, we are becoming a much better hitting day."
Sophomore Bryant Shute was perfect in three trips to the plate and knocked home five runs to lead the Panther onslaught. He doubled and tripled.
Michael Rakers added three RBI on a pair of hits with Drew Dudek going 2-for-3. Landon Chandler wnet 3-for-4 as Pinckneyville connected for 14 basehits. Brandon Long chased home two runners with a single.
Defensively, the Panthers turned three double plays behind winning hurler C.J. Opp (3-1), who twirled a five-hitter with three strikeouts and just one walk.
"It is nice to keep our momentum moving forward as we head into a big game Friday with A-J," Engelhardt concluded.