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BASEBALL: Bulldogs bite into Panthers' win streak

Posted May 09, 2011 11:00 pm

Doug Daniels

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Two of the area's top high school baseball teams met at Ridgon Field in Pinckneyville on Friday as the Panthers took on Harrisburg in doubleheader action, with the Bulldogs ending PCHS's 13-game winning streak 10-7 in game one on Tyler McGowan's three-run homer in the ninth.

The Panthers hadn't lost since April 5 at Nashville, but before the weekend was over, they were suddenly looking to rebound from a four-game losing streak.

Harrisburg pounded Pinckneyville 16-2 in the nightcap, then the Panthers dropped both Saturday games at the O'Fallon Classic; first falling to Triad (3A) 10-7, then to Holt-Wentsville (Mo.) 8-6 later in the day.

"We knew going in to this weekend that we there was the possibility of struggling against some good competition," said PCHS head baseball coach Alan Engelhardt, "but we wanted to get a look at some good teams as we prepare to head into the post-season."

The first game with Harrisburg proved to be as advertised, with both teams bringing post-season like intensity to the field in the extra-inning war.

The Panthers struck first when Adam Barczewski doubled and scored in the bottom of the first inning, then in the bottom of the second Taylor Beninati cranked a two-run homer, scoring Marian Brammeier.

Andrew Maxam and Keelin Rasch answered with back-to-back home runs for Harrisburg in the third, then Matthew Nichols continued the bombing with a solo shot to make it 4-2 Panthers after three innings of play.

The Bulldogs got to Nichols, the PCHS starting pitcher, in the top of the fourth. Five hits, including a home run by Logan Leverett, led to four runs for Harrisburg in the inning and a 6-4 advantage.

Bryant Shute singled and scored in the fifth, as did C.J. Opp in the sixth, and the game was knotted 6-6 after six.

PCHS put two men on in the seventh, but couldn't get them home. McGowan reached on an error in the top of the eighth and later scored on Rasch's single to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead, but Nichols would drive in Opp with a sac-fly in the bottom of the inning to keep the game going.

"We were one hit away from winning the game at three different points," Engelhardt said. "We couldn't find a way to get runners home when we really needed to."

In the top of the ninth, with Evan Chapman on the hill, Nick Borders reached on an error to lead off, then Leverett attempted to bunt him to second. Chapman made a diving play to catch the bunt in the air, then tried to double off Borders at first but threw wildly. Luckily, the Panthers retrieved the ball and Borders was gunned down trying to take third.

With Pinckneyville seemingly out of the jam, Cody Hall reached on another Panther defensive miscue. Cameron Cummins singled, setting up McGowan for the kill. The centerfielder belted a three-run home run to put the Bulldogs in front for good, a day after they had lost an S.I.R.R. Ohio Division game for the first time since 2007.

"We just made too many mistakes," Engelhardt said.

Chapman (6-1) took the loss, but didn't allow an earned run. Cummins relieved Isaac Behme in the eight to pick up the victory.

Barczewski (3-5, 2B, R) had a three-hit game for PCHS. Brandon Long (1-5, RBI), Shute (1-4, BB, R), Nichols (1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI), Brammeier (1-4, BB, 2B, R), Beninati (1-5, HR, R, 2 RBI) and Opp (1-2, BB, 2 R) had the other hits for Pinckneyville.

Rasch was 4-for-6 (HR), scoring twice and driving in three runs to lead Harrisburg at the plate. Leverett (2-5, HR, R, RBI) and Maxam (2-2, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) also had multi-hit games.

Game two provided far less drama than the first.

Shute (3-2) was tagged for ten runs, five earned, on eight hits and two walks in three innings of work, then Brammeier fared no better, allowing 6 unearned runs to cross the plate in the 16-2 beating.

"I was pretty disappointed with our effort and attitude," said Engelhardt. "After losing for the first time in a while, we didn't react very well and ended up on the wrong side of a beating."

The Bulldogs out-hit the Panthers 11-4 in the second game. Rasch was 3-for-4 and drove in 5 runs, giving him 8 total RBI on the day. Cummins was 1-for-2 and drove in 4. Joey Burris (1-1), Shute (1-2, HR), Long (1-2, R) and Beninati (1-2) accounted for Pinckneyville's hits.

Cummins picked up his second victory of the day on the hill, going all five innings, giving up both runs on four hits and a walk while picking up seven K's for Harrisburg (21-4).

On Saturday, the Panthers fell behind Triad 10-2 before mounting a seventh-inning rally to close the gap, but ultimately lost 10-7.

Beninati (2-1) was hit hard as the starting pitcher, but Queen was solid in relief the last two innings.

Brammeier's 3-for-3 (R) game at the dish highlighted 11 hits by the Panthers. Opp (2-3, 2 R) also had multiple hits, and Shute (1-4, HR, 2 RBI) homered for the second straight game.

Later in the afternoon, Holt-Wentzville jumped on PCHS starter Noah Hepp (1-3) for six runs in the first two innings, putting the Panthers in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

"We had a very uneven day, playing very well at times, and really struggling at others. We swung the bats well enough to give us a chance to win each game, but we had some 1-2-3 innings that really let the opposing pitchers off the hook against both Triad and Holt-Wentsville," said Engelhardt.

Again the Panthers tried to fight back, closing the gap to 8-6 with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on RBIs by Shute and Nichols.

Shute extended his hitting streak to thirteen games, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and two driven in against Holt. Barczewski (2-3, BB, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI) added a pair of doubles, Long (1-4, 2B, R, RBI), Nichols (1-3, BB, RBI), Brammeier (1-3, RBI) and Burris (1-3) also hit safely.

"I know this was a tough couple of days for us, but seeing good pitching and playing against good hitting teams will benefit us in the long run," said Engelhardt. "We just need to get back after it on Monday against Carterville and find our groove."

The Panthers (19-7) hit the road to take on the Lions at 4:30 p.m.

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