Misplay by Panthers in fourth leads to Middlesex victory

Charles City's Adam Daniels successfully swipes second base as an Middlesex infielder misplays the ball.

Andre' Jones photos

For three innings, Charles City’s Panthers and the invading Middlesex Chargers played a close contest, with the visitors holding a 1-0 lead heading into the fourth inning. But a crucial error by the hosts proved costly as the contest quickly turned into a rout.

A dropped outfield fly with two outs in the top of the fourth trigged a 4-0 run for Middlesex as they went on to top the Panthers 12-0 in the April 22 Tidewater District contest.

The game seemed relatively in hand for the Panthers, thanks to starting pitcher Shea Clancy superb command of the ball. In the fourth inning, Clancy forced a pop fly to right field off the bat of Andy Fitchett. Outfielder Michael Callahan maneuvered to make the routine play, but a miscalculation on the location of the ball force it to pop out of his glove. Fitchett, along with two other runners, crossed home plate on the error. Two batters later, Kyle Lawson’s double drove home Steve Skelton, rendering a 5-0 lead for the guests.

Middlesex’s mojo on offense flourished. Eight runs on seven hits in the top of the fifth stretched the margin to 12-0 for the guests. The same couldn’t be same for the guests, as their scoring opportunities were nullified on two occasions. At the bottom of the fourth, Panther reserve Khairi Wyatt struck out with a runner on third base. In the fifth frame, Troy Crawley was thrown out at the plate to end the contest.

After the game, head coach Alan Jones spoke about the game, particularly about the crucial mistakes that spewed beginning in the fourth inning.

“We made a two-out mistake on defense,” he said on the dropped fly ball. “At the beginning of the game, I told the guys not to give a team four or five outs in an inning, and that’s what happened today.”

But Jones also had high praise for both his starting pitcher, as well as his starting lineup that consisted of underclassmen or first time players.

“Shea pitched a real good game and I just wanted to get him the win,” continued Jones. “Today, he and the youngsters showed tremendous character all game.

“Our offense has been killing us all year and we need to get back on track and fix that,” he concluded.

Charles City remains winless at 0-6 (0-3 Tidewater District) for the year. Middlesex improves to 2-6 overall (2-0 Tidewater).

Charles City third baseman Andre’ Mason applies a tag to Middlesex’s Matthew Horne to get out of the third inning.