Vengeance is a dish best served cold.
On the week of March 20, Panther baseball had just one team to prepare for, opening their conference schedule in a home-and-away series with Mountain Seven rival East Henderson. After a convincing East win in Game 1, Jared Greenwood’s team returned the favor in front of their home fans.
On Tuesday, March 21, the Panthers traveled to East Flat Rock for a game with the 3-3 Eagles. There, they ran into a buzz saw, falling 7-0 behind a 96-pitch perfect game from East senior Reece Alverson.
On Friday, March 24, the Panthers returned to McConnell Field for their first home conference game of the season. There, Greenwood deployed a modified lineup both at the plate and in the field, including shifting senior catcher Davis Anders into the leadoff spot.
“That’s just baseball. Being around it for a long time, [when] you have a really good team and they’re playing like crap, you do something to get them not thinking about it,” said Greenwood. “Davis is our best hitter, and that starts the game off where [the opposing pitcher] can’t make a mistake early – not only is he gonna get a hit, but he’s got the ability to put one into the softball field at any given time. … You’ve just got to mix it up, get them out of their heads and do something different.”
After a scoreless first inning, the Eagles threatened to score in the top of the second, getting a single and a base on balls with zero outs. On the next at-bat, East attempted a sacrifice bunt, but popped the ball up and back toward junior pitcher Josiah Hursey. Seeing that the lead runner had taken too big of a lead, Hursey caught the ball and threw back to second for a big double play.
In the bottom of the third, the Panthers opened the scoring for the evening, getting back-to-back doubles from Anders and senior pinch-hitter Caleb Cloer to take a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth, East looked ready to tie the game after a leadoff double, their biggest hit of the contest to that point. On the next at-bat however, junior first baseman Jaxson Hursey made a superb diving catch on a hard-hit line drive. Seeing East’s lead runner had again taken too big of a lead, Hursey regained his feet and threw to second for Franklin’s second double play of the game.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers added some critical insurance, getting back-to-back doubles from sophomore center fielder Tyler Wiliams and junior second baseman Malachi Hayes to give Franklin a 2-0 lead. After a Jaxson Hursey single brought Hayes home to make it 3-0, Josiah Hursey completed his stellar game with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh.
Four Panthers recorded doubles in the game to go along with Josiah Hursey’s four-hit, five-strikeout complete game. Behind Hursey, Hayes, Jaden Rogers, Ian Knepp and Jaxson Hursey provided airtight infield defense throughout.
“We owed them one, but more than anything we owed it to ourselves,” said Greenwood of avenging their Tuesday loss. “That was a wake-up call the first of the week, and these guys on a very quick turnaround had probably the best week of practice we’ve had in a long time. We got after it, especially defensively and our pitching, because that’s where we struggled. They were almost perfect tonight. Our defense was perfect, and Joe threw the ball unbelievable – he could have thrown two more innings and not reached his pitch count. … You get a night like tonight where you still didn’t hit the ball great, but you get a win like that, it could spark us moving on next week to Tuscola.”