Panthers go 3-1 over week, enter toughest part of schedule
Sophomore catcher/designated hitter Keegan Floyd bats versus Cordova on April 13. He would go two-for-two in the game with three RBIs.
April 18, 2011 • written by Stuart Settles
Filed under featured, Sports
Head Baseball Coach Phil Clark sums up the structure of the Bartlett Panthers’ season. It is divided into three parts. The first part is playing tough out-of-town teams. The Panthers did this well, going 9-3 between these teams. The second part is starting district play. The Panthers went 6-0 in the first week of play. The third and final part is going against tough in-town teams and finishing District 14-AAA. Well, considering this, the Panthers are in the final stretch that is their 2011 season.
The week began on Tuesday with a road matchup against Cordova. The Panthers started fast, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning, with RBIs from senior first baseman Charles Kelly, junior outfielder Chad Burrow, senior third baseman Max Allen, and sophomore catcher/designated hitter Keegan Floyd. Senior starting pitcher Chandler Hawkins gave up a Cordova run in the bottom half of the inning on a senior Mitchell Wallace RBI single, but the Panthers scored four more runs in the second inning, with two 2-RBI base hits from junior second baseman Graham Thompson and Floyd, to take an 8-1 lead. Another Panther run was tacked on in the third, as senior catcher Kye Holder scored on a Kelly RBI single, to give the Panthers a 9-1 lead.
Hawkins stayed dominant throughout, striking out thirteen Cordova batters through five innings of work, but five Panther defensive errors shrank the Panthers lead to 9-6 after the fifth inning. In the top of the sixth, Kelly knocked in another Panther run, increasing the lead to 10-6. The Panthers went to the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, as senior Josh Peterson allowed his first two batters on base, leading to another pitching change, with junior shortstop Nick Dawson becoming the new pitcher. The two Cordova runners scored in the inning, shrinking the Panther lead to 10-8. Dawson returned in the seventh and final inning, and after a Cordova leadoff single, he struck out the side, giving the Panthers a 10-8 victory. Dawson picked up the save and kept Hawkins in line for his fifth win of the season.
The Panthers got out of Cordova with a win, but having seven defensive errors in a game is a glaring statistic.
“We were off over the prom weekend, and we didn’t play a very competitive schedule the week before. We jumped out to an 8-1 lead after two, and I think we just sat back on our heels and thought that we’re going to coast. Cordova kept competing and competing, and the next thing you know, we’re in a ballgame, but we were able to hold them off,” Clark said.
The next night, the two teams met again at Elrod Field. The game started the same way as the night before, with four Panther runs scored in the bottom of the first inning, including an RBI single from Burrow and a 2-RBI single from Floyd.
The Panther defense stayed in check, as senior starting pitcher Austin Upchurch allowed three Cordova batters on base and kept the Wolves scoreless. The Panthers knocked in four runs in the third, two from a Burrow two-run homer, and four more in the fourth to take a 12-0 lead into the fifth inning. Upchurch returned in the fifth and retired all three Cordova batters to finish a complete game and close a Panthers victory.
Offensive production was important in this game, as all Panther starters, with the exception of sophomore outfielder Chase Claudio and junior outfielder Dylan Chipman, scored at least one run in the game, but Upchurch’s keeping Cordova bats at bay gave the Panthers the room to score.
“We knew upcoming this year that Austin had to be a rock for us, and he has [done that.] He’s had an up-and-down couple of weeks, but [Wednesday night] was the best that he threw in a while. I think he is getting better, and that’s what we’re trying to do–getting him sharp as he can be when May gets here,”Clark said.
Also, Floyd had his best hitting performance of the week, going two-for-two with three RBIs. He has proved himself to be an important young player in the Panther lineup.
“Keegan’s learning and he’s still working every day. We’re excited to see him, I told him after the ballgame, ‘You keep swinging like that, and you’ll stay in the lineup.’ We’re looking to get the best nine, ten, twelve [players] that we need for the District Tournament and May,” Clark said.
The next day, the Panthers began a three game out-of-district home stand versus Dyer County. The two teams met in Murfreesboro on April 25, with the Panthers winning a close 9-8 game. Sophomore Shane Lantigua took the mound for the Panthers, and kept Dyer County scoreless through three innings of work. The Panthers bats struck in the bottom half of the third inning, as Floyd hit a RBI single, scoring Kelly from second base.
Dyer County broke the Panther lead in the top of the fourth with a 2-RBI single from shortstop Andrew Massey, and in the top of the fifth, a fielding error from Claudio allowed left fielder Drew Suratt to score, giving the Choctaws a 3-1 lead. The Panthers tied up the game in the bottom of the fifth on a fielding error during Burrow’s at-bat, allowing Dawson to score, and a Floyd RBI single. Dyer County would put away the game in the top of the sixth, as Massey hit a three-run home homer, increasing the lead to 6-3. Two more Choctaws scored in the seventh inning, giving them an 8-3 lead.
After Dyer County starting pitcher Logan Pugh retired the first two Panthers batters in the bottom of the seventh, he allowed singles to Kelly and Burrow, and a wild error on a bad throw from the pitcher to first base, which would have retired Floyd, allowed Kelly to score and shrink the lead to 8-4. The comeback did not evolve, as Allen would ground out and close a Dyer County victory.
Lantigua has shown his relief pitcher power in past games, but in the starting pitcher role, he still has room for improvement.
“I thought he did really well. He made two mistake pitches during the game, and when you’re playing against a quality opponent like Dyer County, they’re going to capitalize on it,” Clark said.
Clark blames himself for calling the pitch that allowed Massey to hit the three-run homer to give Dyer County the lead, but he still gives the team responsibility for not getting back in the game.
“We didn’t play with a lot of intensity, and that’s the thing we talked about after the game. I thought we were a little soft, mentally and physically. We’ve got to pick it up. We aren’t able to play at that pace and be successful,” Clark said.
Stormy weather managed to stay out of the area on Friday night, as the Panthers played White Station. Allen smacked a two-run homer for the Panthers in the second inning and a three-run double in the third, giving the team a 7-0 lead. Senior starting pitcher K.C. Abney struck out four and allowed two White Station runners to score through five innings of work. The Panthers finished up the game in the fifth on a Kelly two-run double to close a 12-2 victory. The Panthers finished the week with a 19-4 overall record, 8-0 in District 14-AAA.
The Panthers start the “homestretch” of the season with an out-of-district matchup at home versus Germantown on Tuesday and return back to district play with a home-and-road series versus Arlington on Thursday and Friday.
Bartlett and their two opponents this week are ranked in The Commercial Appeal’s Dandy Dozen, Bartlett at number four, Germantown at number seven, and Arlington at number one. It is clear to Coach Clark why Arlington is the number one team.
“The reason they are there is because of their pitching staff. They have a tremendous pitching staff, with [junior] Brady Bramlett and [senior Taylor] ‘Bug’ Cox, and those two guys are going to be tough. They have a lot of years of experience and I can foresee them being a real challenge next week,” Clark said.
The Panthers are not going to skimp on the Red Devils either.
“[Germantown] beat [number five in Dandy Dozen] Houston [Thursday night] 5-3, and we had one of our coaches scouting the game. He said that they looked really good; they have a lot of team speed and they pitch pretty well. We’re going to have our hands full next week; if we don’t play well, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll be 0-3, so we’ve got to have our intensity level notched up one more [level] to be able to compete a little better,” Clark said.
Games This Week (weather permitting)
Tuesday 7:00 p.m. Germantown at Bartlett
Thursday 7:00 p.m. Arlington at Bartlett
Friday 6:00 p.m. Bartlett at Arlington
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