BASEBALL: Harrisburg shuts out Panthers 8-0
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Harrisburg head baseball coach Jay Thompson believes his Bulldog pitching staff is starting to peak at the right time.
With postseason play right around the corner, the longtime HHS coach might not be far off from his belief.
In the Bulldogs last two outings, the most recent of which was an 8-0 victory at Pinckneyville Friday, the pitching staff has gone 14 innings without a walk.
Cameron Cummins picked up the win on the bump against the Panthers, tossing a two-hitter, while striking out five.
"To go 14 innings without giving up a walk is just phenomenal," Thompson said. "Our pitching staff has been great all year, but it seems like now we are peaking at the right time."
Also factoring into Thompon's equation was Roper's 0 walk, 17 strikeout performance Thursday at Mt. Vernon where Harrisburg won 5-1.
Against Pinckneyville, Carson Batts was responsible for five putouts at the third base position, another area that Thompson points to as a turn around for his bunch.
"Batts has been spectacular," he said. "Since we put him in the starting lineup, we've become a much better defensive team."
Harrisburg got on the board early with three runs in the first inning.
Roper crushed a two RBI double into center field, scoring Cummins and Cody Hall and Tyler McGowan followed up Roper with a RBI single into right field.
In the third inning, the Bulldogs plated two more runs when Roper led the inning off with a single to centerfield and scored on a sac-fly by McGowan. Justin Younger then reached base on a bunt single and scored on an RBI single into centerfield by Cooper Thompson.
In the fourth inning, Roper cleared the bases with a three-run shot over the left field fence, scoring Blake Buchanan and Hall.
Roper was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBIs on the day, while Hall finished 3-for-4 as well.
Justin Bumann's third-inning single and Bryant Shute's sixth-inning double were the only hits the Panthers could muster against Cummins.
Pinckneyville (13-13) is scheduled to return to action against West Frankfort on Wednesday.
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