Fourth frame dreadful for Panthers as Surry cruises 22-2

Charles City third baseman Andre' Mason concentrates on making the catch to force out a Cougar baserunner.

Andre' Jones photo

Charles City’s Panther baseball team was up to the task of staying competitive with Surry County’s visiting Cougars. Unfortunately for the hosts, the top of the fourth inning seemed like a never-ending cycle of scoring for the visitors.

Surry pushed 18 runs across the plate in the top of the fourth frame, putting what was once a competitive contest out of reach as the Cougars cruised to a 22-2 victory in the March 24 contest.

After the visitors opened the game scoring two runs in the top of the first inning, Charles City’s Thomas Kelly tripled to lead off the game for the hosts. Kelly subsequently crossed the plate after a wild pitch to slice the deficit to one (2-1) heading into the second inning.

Surry’s Jarad Barry doubled to drive in teammate Andrew Burkhouse, but a misplay in the field by the hosts resulted in two additional runs for a 4-1 lead in the top of the second. Charles City again cut the deficit in half as a Stephen Gallmeyer sacrifice drove in Kelly. The hosts trailed by two runs heading into the fourth.

Panther pitcher Shea Clancy struck out Surry’s lead batter, but Burkhouse’s triple would be the first of eight consecutive hits for the Cougars that resulted in six runs. Despite a pitching change by first-year Panther coach Nick Weigand, another eight-hit streak was added, resulting in 10 runs before the Panthers were able to record the second out of the inning.

Surry added two more runs to push the margin to 20 (22-2). Charles City was unable to score in the bottom of the inning, resulting in the game ending on the mercy rule.

Weigand commented about the competitiveness of his team despite the rough inning that led to the downfall in the contest.

“We were doing well up until the top of the fourth and that’s when we began to make a lot of mistakes,” the coach commented. “However, we have improved from the first two games and are working to becoming more improved as the season goes along.”

Charles City falls to 0-3 on the season while Surry improves to 1-0.