On the heels of a 12-2 win Saturday over previously No. 10-ranked GMC, the Portal Panthers suffered a disappointing setback Tuesday at home as they dropped a 19-0 region loss to the visiting Calvary Cavaliers.
A mixture of errors, walks and Cavalier hits doomed the Panthers who were able to muster only one hit, and ended up falling by the mercy rule in only three innings of play at the Portal athletic complex.
“We knew it was going to be a big challenge today, Calvary is 12-1 for a reason,” said Portal coach Dennis Moore. “We made a couple mistakes early in the game, and against a team of that caliber mistakes are magnified, and things then snowballed for us.”
The Cavs started the scoring in the first. A leadoff single was followed by an RBI double by Kaden Blankenship to make it 1-0. Lance Longgrear then singled home Blankenship to make it 2-0. A Panther error was then followed by a two run double to center by Deuce Bailey to give the Cavs a 4-0 lead.
The floodgates really opened in the second inning. Back to back singles, were followed by back to back errors, and then back to back walks, as the Cavs extended their lead to 7-0. The Cavaliers weren’t done, as Grant Thomas made the score 8-0 with an RBI single to left, followed by another walked in run to make it 9-0.
Jay Wetherington kept things going for Calvary with a bases clearing double to center to make the score 12-0. The Cavs added two more runs on a Longgrear single to right to make it 14-0.
“I think we started losing our focus in the second inning,” Moore said. “Errors, walks and hits came in bunches there in the second inning.”
Cody Clark had the Panthers lone hit as he singled to right in the bottom of the second.
The Cavs added five more runs in the third and final inning. Calvary had 15 hits in three innings, with Blankenship leading the way going four for four at the plate with three RBI’s.
The good news for the Panthers is this wraps up the more difficult part of their schedule, and they finish the season with five of their next seven games at home.
“I think we will be able to bounce back,” Moore said. “I think we have been moving in the right direction, particularly this past weekend. I think we realize the kind of challenge we were facing today, but I believe we will bounce back and be fine.”
“We are just really focused on us at this point,” Moore said. “I think we are trying to get better, and if we can play to our abilities most of the games the rest of the way we should be able to be competitive in.”
Portal drops to 4-11 overall and 0-7 in region play. Next up for the Panthers is a 5:30 p.m. home date against McIntosh County Academy scheduled for Friday afternoon.
