(by Jeff Harrington)
The Magnolia Panther baseball season came to a heartbreaking end Friday in the 5A State Baseball Tournament in Harrison. The Panthers fell 10 to 9 to the Valley View Blazers in a back and forth game that saw a little bit of everything. Valley View won it on a walk off single in the bottom of the 7th.
Before the deciding hit, the teams traded blows throughout the contest. The Panther struck first in the top of the first on a double by Payton Campbell and a 2 run homerun by Kyle Carver. The lead would be short lived though as the Blazers scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first on 4 hits off Panther starter Connor Harrington. The Blazers would add 2 more in the bottom of the 2nd which knocked Harrington out of the game in favor of Halen Sanders, who proceeded to get out of the inning with no further damage, and the Panthers trailed 6 to 2.
Magnolia would waste little time in getting right back in the game. In the top of the 3rd, Harrington walked with one out to start the rally. Campbell doubled to score Harrington. After a ground out by Dayton Dickson, Carver walked and Kevin Zhao singled to score one run. Adam Pieratt then put the Panthers back on top when he deposited a hanging curve ball over the left field wall for a 3 run home run and the Panthers were back on top 7 to 6.
The Panthers would add 2 more runs in the 5th to increase their lead to 9 to 6. Campbell led off the inning with a solo home run. The Panthers loaded the bases after a single by Dickson, an error and a walk to Pieratt. Sanders then scored courtesy runner Octavious Smith with an infield ground out.
The score stayed 9 to 6 until the bottom of the 6th when the Blazers scored three runs, with the help of 3 Panther errors and a controversial call and decision by the umpiring crew. After the first batter struck out against Sanders, a double and an error put runners at first and third. A base hit scored one run, but the next batter popped out for the second out of the inning with the score 9 to 7 and runners at second and third. The Panthers appeared to be out of the inning when the next batter grounded to Campbell at third. His throw to first beat the runner, but was up the line toward home plate and a collision between the batter and the Panther first baseman Kyle Carver ensued. The field umpire came over to Carver and asked to see the ball which would have indicated that if he held on to the ball the batter would be out. When Carver showed the umpire that he had the ball, the umpire immediately called safe, then threw his hands up to call time as the batter/runner was laying on the ground in pain. The runner from third scored on the play, and Panther Coach Bobby Beeson came out to argue. As Beeson was arguing, the runner who started on second and had advanced to third on Campbell’s throw, ran home from third. Despite the fact that time had been called, the umpires did not send the runner back which left the game tied 9 to 9. After a lengthy discussion by the umpires, the play stood as called, much to the dismay of the Panthers, their coaches and their fans. Sanders got out of further trouble in the 6th and the score was tied 9 to 9 going into the 7th, but the events of the 6th had turned the momentum toward the Blazers. The Panthers didn’t score in the top of the 7th, and the Blazers scored the winning run in the bottom of the 7th with one out.
Sanders was the hard luck loser on the mound for Magnolia. His record fell to 5 and 2 on the season. Campbell led the Panthers at the plate with 3 hits, including his home run. Dickson, Carver, Zhao and Pieratt had one hit each, with Carver and Pieratt’s both being home runs. Harrington, Carver and Pieratt drew the only 3 walks issued by Blazer pitching.
Magnolia finishes the year 19 and 6, and in the final 8 of the 5A State Tournament. This was the 4th year in a row the Panthers finished in the top 8 in the state. In that 4 year span, the Panthers had one state championship, one runner up finish, and one semi-final appearance. This was the final game for two Panther seniors, Nash Miller and Dale Drake.
