BASEBALL: Panthers hit a dozen, score a dozen in win over Trico
Adam Banach drove in four runs, Jackson Brand had three hits and Cole Bigham picked up his second pitching victory of the season for Pinckneyville as the Panthers defeated Trico 12-2 in five innings on Monday at Rigdon Field.
PCHS had a dozen total hits and the top seven batters in the lineup all had at least one. Bigham stranded seven of the nine base runners he allowed on five hits and four walks. He fanned four Pioneers in a five-inning complete game performance.
"Cole's done it all year," said Panthers head coach Gabe Shepard. "He's 2-0 and pitched three real good innings in our first game, probably deserves to be 3-0 on the year. He's solid, he pitched great today. He worked out of some tight jams, and we played defense behind him."
Tyler Rulevish and Brand both singled and scored in the bottom of the first inning, coming in on consecutive ground-out RBIs from Nolan Luke and Banach. The Panthers added four more runs in the bottom of the second, getting RBI hits from Luke (two-run double) and Banach (single) with two outs to give them a 6-0 lead.
Both teams got a run in the third inning, but the Panthers put it out of reach in the bottom of the fourth.
Brand led off with a single, Luke walked, then Banach drove both of them in with a base hit. Two batters later, Jacob Louis hit a two-run blast to bring in Trent Hicks to put Pinckneyville up 11-1.
Trico extended the game with a run in the top of the fit after drawing three walks, but Brand knocked in Rulevish with a single in the bottom of the inning to end it.
"We hit up and down the lineup," Shepard said. "Anytime you score in every inning, you're putting pressure on the other team all the time. That's big."
Brand (3-3, 3 R, RBI, BB), Rulevish (2-3, 3 R, HBP), Banach (2-3, 4 RBI), Hicks (2-3, R), Luke (1-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB) and Justin Bauersachs (1-2, R, HBP) had hits for Pinckneyville.
The Panthers (4-2) play at Carbondale on Tuesday, at Marion on Wednesday, and at Steeleville on Thursday.