After an unprecedented ride this season brought the program success greater than they have enjoyed in decades, the Saint Jo baseball team’s season came to an end on Saturday in the regional semifinals against Dodd City.
After losing game one on Thursday, the Panthers lost game two on Saturday 20-8 due to run rule after five innings to lose the series.
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was much closer up until the final inning.
The Hornets came out ready to score runs in the top of the first. Two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs.
A single scored one run and a double cleared the bases to put Dodd City up 4-0. Pitcher Brock Durham calmed down and was able to hold the runner at second by forcing three straight outs to get out of the top of the first inning.
Saint Jo responded in the bottom of the first. Leadoff Harper Roberts was able to get on base when the third baseman could not make the throw to first. Roberts then was able to advance to second on a bad pickoff attempt. He advanced to third on a ground out two batters later.
Jake Morris was able to drive Roberts home with a triple to center field. Next batter Durham was able to get Morris home when the ground ball hit to the third basemen was bobbled before his throw to first was too late. The Panthers trailed 4-2 heading to the second inning when the next batter struck out.
A leadoff walk came back to bite Saint Jo. Durham almost got out of the inning as the next two batters grounded out to first. A stolen base and a ground ball advanced the runner to third base. A passed ball allowed the runner to score and put Dodd City up 5-2.
The next batter hit a triple to center field and looked poised to put another run on the board for the Hornets. Fortunately, Durham was able to force the next batter to fly out to second base to end the scoring chance.
The Panthers Jose “Pepe” Gams was able to get on base as his fly ball to center field could not be gathered by the diving centerfielder. Next batter Preston Lyons was able to draw a walk to put two runners on base with one out.
After grounding into a fielder’s choice made it two outs, Connor Thompson was able to hit a double that drove in the runner on second to cut the lead down to 5-3. With runners on second and third, the Panthers looked poised to score more, but the next batter struck out to end the second inning.
The leadoff batter got hit by a pitch to get on base. He stole second to put himself in scoring position. Two batters later, a double drove in the runner. The next batter grounded out to second base, allowing the runner to advance to third with two outs.
A single drove in the runner to put Dodd City up 7-3. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, but Durham was able to force the next batter to ground out to third to get out of the jam.
The Panthers answered a little bit as Morris led off with a double to left field. A bad pickoff throw to second allowed him to advance to third base. Next batter Durham grounded out to second base, but it allowed Morris to score and cut the lead to 7-4 heading into the fourth inning.
Morris came in to pitch in relief. With one out, a bad throw to first allowed a base runner to reach second. A passed ball allowed the runner to reach third.
The next batter was able to hit a bloop single over the infield to score the runner and make it 8-4. A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, but Morris was able to strike out the next batter looking to get out of the jam.
Saint Jo scored in every inning up to that point, but needed to string more than a couple runs together to give themselves a chance to win as they had also been unsuccessful in holding the Hornets scoreless in any inning up to that point. The Panthers responded with their best offensive inning of the game.
A leadoff single from Lyons got things going. Roberts then grounded into a fielder’s choice, but the throw was not in time at second base to get Lyons out. Thompson was able drive in Lyons with a line drive single to left field. Runners were on second and first with no outs.
Next batter, Wyatt Guerin, loaded the bases up with a single. Morris came up and grounded out to second base, but it drove in the runner on third base and allowed both runners to advance to second and third.
Durham then grounded to third base, who tried to throw the runner out at home, but the throw was not in time as Thompson scored to cut the lead to 8-7.
Durham was able to steal second to put two runners in scoring position. Next batter, Cody Thurman, grounded out to the short stop for the second out, but it allowed the runner on third to score and tie the game 8-8. It also advanced the other runner to third base.
With their first lead only a base hit and 90 feet away, and with the momentum swung their way, it only seemed logical that it would happen. Unfortunately, their next batter struck out looking to end the inning as the game seemed definitely swung.
Saint Jo had been playing catch up all game and now had firmly caught back up, taking the momentum of the game with them. All they had to do was just hold off Dodd City’s bats for one inning since the Panther’s bats were all charged up.
Unfortunately, the opposite happened. After one out, two hits and an error loaded the bases. Followed by two single hits and two walks, the Hornets scored four runs before a line out was gave Dodd City their second out. Unfortunately, the scoring did not slow down.
A single and a home run scored five more runs. After two more walks, Lyons came in to pitch. After a walk loaded the bases, a passed ball allowed one run to score. A single following that scored two more runs to put the Hornets up 20-8, before Saint Jo could get the final out.
The fans and team were in a tizzy, as a couple calls early in the inning went against the Panthers, exasperating the situation as the inning spiraled out of their control.
Saint Jo needed to score three runs in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game going. Unfortunately, their hot bats from the inning before had no spark as the three batters were sat down in order to end the game, 20-8, and the series.

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