Slew of errors play into downfall of Panthers against Mathews Blue Devils

Charles City’s James Harris IV (left) snags the ball and attempts to tag Mathews’ baserunner Christian Blue (9) at home plate. The runner was deemed safe on the play.

Andre' Jones photo

A slew of errors factored into Charles City High School’s downfall Tuesday afternoon.

The visiting Mathews Blue Devils cruised to a 15-0 victory over the Panthers in Tidewater District action.

Mathews kicked off the game with four first inning runs. After Charles City minimized the damage in the second inning by only submitting two runs, they had their best opportunity in the bottom of the third.

Singles by Damian Barnes Jr. and Damian Zuidema managed to get multiple players on base in scoring position. However, good pitching from Mathews kept the Panthers at bay. From that point, Mathews added additional runs for the mercy rule to be enacted in the contest.

After the game, Charles City Head Coach Ryan Gardner continued to preach instilling a winning culture, no matter the result on the scoreboard.

“Baseball is new to some of these kids,” he commented. “All we want is a no-quit attitude, even if the score doesn’t say we win.

“It’s a foundational build and it starts with the mentality,” Gardner added.

Charles City falls to 1-7 on the season.