The Saint Jo Panthers had another stiff challenge on Friday as they traveled to Muenster to take on another 2A school during district play.
It was tough going for the Panthers as too many walks on defense and not enough hits on offense led to a 13-0 loss to the Hornets in five innings.
Saint Jo started the game at the plate and things looked promising. Connor Thompson led off with a single. A wild pitch allowed Thompson to advance to second base and into scoring position. Next batter Tyler Cook drew a walk to put two runners on and no outs.
A ground out for the first out advanced both runners into scoring position. Unfortunately, the next two batters struck out swinging to end the scoring chance for the Panthers.
After getting the first batter out, Muenster collected two hits two walks and a hit batter for two runs and the bases loaded. After striking out a batter for the second out, a single up the middle scored two more runs for the Hornets to give them a 4-0 lead before Saint Jo got the third out.
With two outs, Pepe Gam hit a single to get on base. The next batter Trevor Conner hit a ground ball and was able to reach first thanks to an error at first base. The Panthers again had two runners on base, but could not take advantage of it as the next player popped up to second base for the third out.
The Hornets made Saint Jo aware the first inning on offense was no fluke by them. The leadoff batter hit a home run on the third pitch. Three more hits, two walks and a few errors allowed Muenster to up the score to 10-0 before the first out of the inning was recorded.
The Panthers gave up one more hit, but were able to retire the next two batters to end the second inning.
With all the success Saint Jo’s hitters had had up to that point with no runs, the third inning the Panthers had no luck. All three batters were retired in order as no base runners were able to get on base and threaten the defense.
The Hornets led off with two drawn walks. Saint Jo was able to get two quick outs to keep the runners from scoring. Unfortunately, the Panthers pitchers could not find the strike zone as two more walks drove in a run to make the score 11-0 before Saint Jo could collect the third out.
In the fourth inning, the Panthers Cody Thurman was able to get one base with a single and two outs. Trying to be aggressive, the pinch runner stole second base and was then caught trying to steal third base to end the chance.
The Hornets were able to hit another solo-home run. Muenster then added another run with a walk, a fielding error and a single to make the score 13-0. Another walk loaded the bases, but Saint Jo was able to turn the inning ending double play to put an end to the bleeding early as the game moved to the fifth inning.
The Panthers needed to score at least four runs to avoid being run ruled. Unfortunately, they could not get any base runners on as they were sat down in order, losing 13-0.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.