BASEBALL: Panthers get much-needed win at Sparta
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Losers of six of their last seven games, Pinckneyville finally got in the win column in the Mississippi Division on Tuesday at Sparta with thirteen hits and a solid complete-game effort from C.J. Opp on the mound. Opp struck out twelve batters and also delivered three hits at the plate in the Panthers 5-3 road win over the Bulldogs.
"This was a much needed win for us," said PCHS head baseball coach Alan Engelhardt. "C.J. did a great job of making big pitches when he needed to. Our defense did a good job of playing behind him as well, not committing any errors."
The Panthers scored two in the first on an RBI double by Joey Burris that brought home Hunter Queen (single) and Bryant Shute (HBP). Burris would walk and score on Opp's single in the third for a 3-0 PCHS lead.
Opp struck out five of the first eight batters he faced before a pair of singles by Elliot French and Shawn Rogers in the third put an earned run on the board for the Bulldogs.
Nolan Luke singled and came in on Hardin's RBI base hit in the top of the fourth, but the Bulldogs kept fighting back with a pair of hits and a run in the bottom of the fourth and a solo homer by Darius Jackson in the fifth to make it 4-3 Panthers.
Opp settled down for the final two innings and a third, fanning four of the last nine batters and allowing just a pair of singles after the fifth.
Shute singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Justyn Rushing in the seventh for Pinckneyville's other run.
"Joey Burris had a big day at the plate," said Engelhardt. "We also had hits from seven different spots in the order which allowed us to score in four different innings."
"But the story of the day was C.J. giving us the pitching performance we needed and our defense stepping up behind him. Pitching and defense win games, and we had both today."
Burris (3-3, 2B, BB, R) and Opp (3-4, RBI) both had three hits to lead the Panthers offensively. Luke (2-3, HBP, R), Shute (1-3, HBP, 2 R), Queen (1-4, R), Hardin (1-3, HBP, RBI) and Trent Hicks (2-4) had the other hits for Pinckneyville.
Opp's seven innings of work yielded three earned runs on eight hits and a walk.
The Panthers (6-7, 1-3) are back on the field Wednesday when they host Trico at Rigdon Field.