After a rescheduling of the game due to weather issues, the Saint Jo baseball team took on a tough Chico team on Thursday.
Despite dealing with roaring wind and a faulty second base that eventually had to be replaced, the field and weather conditions were as good as could be expected after heavy rainfall early in the week.
It did not help though as the Dragons took it to the Panther 15-2 to give them their first loss of the year.
The wind was a factor early and throughout the game as every fly ball for Saint Jo was an adventure. Chico’s leadoff batter reached first due to an error in the outfield. After stealing second and then third base, the Dragons were able to get the runner home with a sacrifice fly to left field to go up 1-0.
The Panthers were attacking pitches early, but they led to hard hit ball to the outfield that went right to Chico’s players as the game moved to the second inning.
The issues for Saint Jo on the mound started to appear as four walks and two fielding errors led to four runs from the Dragons as the Panthers struggled to find the strike zone. Saint Jo again could get no momentum going on offense going three up three down, trailing 5-0 heading to the third inning.
After a walk a single and a fielding error in left field loaded the bases, the Panthers made a pitching change. Chico was able to get all three runners home thanks to a single and a fielder’s choice, but Saint Jo was able to limit the damage as they trailed 8-0.
Again the Panthers were unable to get anything going on offense as the last part of their lineup went three up and three down as the game moved to the fourth inning.
A leadoff single from the Dragons came back to bight Saint Jo. After stealing second and advancing to third after tagging up, the runner scored on a passed ball to give advance Chico’s lead to 9-0. Thankfully, the Panthers were able to limit any other batters from getting on base. Unfortunately, Saint Jo was still hitless after four innings as the game moved into the fifth inning.
With the Dragons one run from putting the pressure of run ruling the Panthers on the line in the fifth inning, Saint Jo was able to secure its first flawless defensive inning. Chico did not get a base runner as the game moved to the bottom of the fifth.
After four innings of frustration, the Panthers’ bats finally came alive. Logan Morman hit a ball right down the third baseline for a single. Next batter Tyler Cook drilled a ball into left field for another single.
Both runners were able to advance into scoring position on a ground out for the first out. Saint Jo was able to get them both home as freshman Trevor Connor drilled a ball into left field for a single to cut the lead to 9-2 as it seemed the Panthers were building momentum.
Unfortunately, the next batter flew out to right field and the Dragons were able to relay a throw to first for a double play to end the inning.
Chico signaled they were not going to just roll over for Saint Jo after a bad fifth inning from them. The leadoff batter drove the second pitch he saw over the left field wall for a solo home run to give the Dragons a 10-2 lead.
The next batter singled as it seemed Chico was about to explode for another wild inning. Thankfully, Saint Jo’s catcher Pepe Gam was able to throw out the runner trying to steal second for the first out. It proved important as the next two batters drew a walk and singled to right field to put runners at the corners.
The Panthers were able to strike out the next batter to end the scoring threat as they hoped they could build off the offensive success they had in the previous inning. Unfortunately that did not happen as they went three up and three down to move to the seventh and final inning.
The Dragons led off the inning with a single, a walk and a two RBI triple. After a line out to shallow left field kept the runner from scoring, Saint Jo changed pitchers.
Finding the strike zone was an issue as the Panthers walked three straight batters to score another run. Another error and walk scored two more runs before Saint Jo was able to get the final two outs with the bases loaded, trailing 15-2.
A leadoff double to left field from Wyatt Geurin signaled it might be another inning where the Panthers could score some runs. While 13 runs is probably unrealistic to come back from in one inning, Saint Jo could at least cut the lead down a bit for the final score.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo was caught trying to steal third base and a strike out from the next batter made it two outs. Cook was able to make to first due to a fielding error and the next batter Cody Thurman drew a walk to move a runner into scoring position.
The next batter struck out looking to end the game as the Panthers lost 15-2.

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