Weekend prep baseball: Panthers win two of three, two losses for Tribe

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Du Quoin High School's baseball team one just once in three games this past weekend and enters Monday's home game against Nashville with a 9-5 record. The Tribe is 2-1 in River-to-River Conference, Mississippi Division play.

Following Friday's 6-5 loss at Pinckneyville, the Tribe short-gamed Eldorado 13-3 before suffering another disappointing setback with a 9-6 loss to Woodlawn.

In the game with Pinckneyville, Landon Chandler sent home the winning runs with a bases loaded triple against DHS reliever Brandon George in the last of the seventh, capping a feverish Pinckneyville rally.

Du Quoin out-hit PCHS 15-8 but stranded eight runners and committed two costly errors.

Tribe starter Trent Bigham struck out 10 batters before George relieved.

"It was good to see us show some heart and battle back at the end of the game today. Give Bigham a lot of credit; he is a good pitcher, but we were chasing his stuff out of the zone early in the game," Panther coach Alan Engelhardt said. "In the fifth inning, I thought we finally adjusted and had a lot better approach at the plate, getting pitches down that we could drive. And finally, Landon came up with the big hit with the bases loaded to win it for us."

Christian Shopinski and Chandler each had two hits with C.J. Opp doubling home two Panther runs.

For the Indians, J.C. Davis was 3-for-4 with Tyler Shelton, Bigham and Drew Bennett all recording two hits.

Opp worked the first six innings for the Panthers with Taylor Beninati (1-0) picking up the win.

"We just missed way too many opportunities against Pinckneyville," Indians coach Tim Craft said. "And we wasted way too many early in the game against Woodlawn."

Du Quoin surrendered eight early tallies before strong work out of the bullpen from Sam Gossett kept things close.

Gossett was also 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles.

George had two hits and Seth Baxter was 3-for-4.

Against Eldorado, Kegan Robbins (2-1) scattered five hits and whiffed six.

Jake Stanhouse had four RBI, two coming on an early home run.

Saturday, the Panthers (7-7, 2-1) split a pair of games on the road at Goreville.

The host Blackcats won the opener 6-5 before the Panthers exploded for a game two win, 21-8.

Pinckneyville plays Monday at Sparta.

Drew Dudek, Michael Rakers and Matthew Nichols all homered in game two with Rakers 3-for-4. He added six RBI.

Nichols knocked in four and Marian Brammeier three with a bases clearing double.

Bryant Shute (1-3) grabbed the mound win with Hunter Queen and Dudek finishing up.

In the first game, Goreville took advantage of eight PCHS walks and held back a late rally.

Jeff Thornton (0-1) was the losing pitcher.

Dudek, Chandler and Rakers all managed two hits.

"In the first game, we walked way too many guys and threw from behind in the count too often, turning good Goreville hitters into very good hitters," Engelhardt said. " n the second game we came out and fought."