Costly errors tough on Panthers as Mathews wins 11-0

Charles City's Adam Daniels extends to snag a ball as Mathews' Brett Hogge makes his way to second base during a steal. Hogge was ruled safe on the play.

Andre' Jones photo

While the final score depicted an 11-0 defeat for the Panthers, the game could have and should have been a lot closer.

Critical errors by the hosts played vital roles as the visiting Mathews Blue Devils coasted to the Conference 42 victory in the May 4 matchup.

Charles City opened up competitively, notching two outs on the first three batters behind the pitching of Shea Clancy. But a crucial error by third baseman Andre’ Mason allowed the first of what would be eight unearned runs for the visitors in the game.

The Blue Devils added three more unearned runs in the top of the second, pushing the lead to 5-0. Charles City’s offense sputtered, unable to get anything going. Charles City’s best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the fifth. Thomas Kelly’s single and two subsequent steals landed the senior on third base. But Panther teammates were unable to advance him to home plate. Meanwhile, Mathews’ rallied off five additional runs in the top of the fourth frame and added an insurance run at the top of the fifth to stretch the final margin to 11-0, ending the game by the mercy rule.

After the game, Panther head coach Nick Weigand talked about the team’s lack of concentration in executing basic and routine plays.

“We weren’t mentally focused today,” said the disappointed coach. “We were not getting down to get the grown balls and not been executing the little things we’ve been stressing on at practice.

“We got to make the right plays at key times,” Weigand continued. “When we do that, we’ll start to win more games.”

Charles City’s record falls to 1-5 on the year.