Saint Jo played its first 1A team in district play on Tuesday as it traveled to Perrin-Whitt.
The Panthers were able to win a competitive game 10-8 to earn their first district win of the season after playing 2A schools so far.
Saint Jo started off strong as Connor Thompson led off with a single. Next batter Tyler Cook then was able to drive him in with a single after Thompson stole second base. Three batters later Chance Bennett then hit a double into center field to get Cook home and give Saint Jo an early 2-0 lead.
The Pirates waited until they had two outs to get going as two singles, an error, walk and a steal home scored three runs to give Perrin-Whitt the lead 3-2.
The Panthers did not do anything in the second inning while the Pirates added to their lead. Again with two outs, a single, a steal and another single scored one run for Perrin-Whitt to make the score 4-2.
Saint Jo tied things up in the third inning. A single from Wyatt Geurin was able to make it home after an error trying to throw him out at second base.
After another error allowed Logan Morman to reach first, Bennett drove him in on a single to tie the game 4-4.
The Pirates were able to retake the lead 5-4 thanks to leadoff walk and fielding error at third base.
The Panthers answered with three runs of their own. A fielding error allowed one runner to score and a two RBI single from Geurin put Saint Jo in the lead 7-5 before Perrin-Whitt tied the game 7-7 again with back-to-back RBI hits.
The Panthers were resilient though. After loading the bases in the top of the fifth inning,. An error at third base allowed one run to score. Cook was then able to drive in two more runs on a base hit to make the score 10-7.
The Pirates tried to answer back with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but that was as close as they got. Saint Jo was able to close the game out in the final two innings despite several chances for Perrin-Whitt as the Panthers won 10-8.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.