The Saint Jo Panthers won their first game of the season on Tuesday in Era with many players fresh off the basketball court.
The Panthers won in one-sided fashion 11-2 against the Hornets.
It was not a promising start for Saint Jo. Besides Collin Thomas getting on base by getting hit by a pitch and stealing second base, the other three Panthers batters struck out.
On defense, the first two Era batters were walked as it seemed nothing was going right for Saint Jo.
Fortunately, the defense came through with a groundout to third base and then a double play ending the inning before any runs could be scored.
The offense got going for the Panthers in the second inning. Payton Harris drew a one out walk followed by Brice Durham reaching first on an infield single.
The next batter struck out, but not before both base runners stole third and second to put themselves in scoring position. Their teammates came through as Matthew Butler and Tyler Cook drove both of them in on back-to-back singles to give Saint Jo a 2-0 lead.
The Panthers defense allowed one base runner in the second inning on a hit pitch, but got that one back when they caught him trying to steal second base for the third out.
Saint Jo would then score five runs in the third inning. Butler and Jordan Reeves drove in runs with singles while Durham drove in a run on a groundout. Butler and Reeves would then score thanks to opportunistic base running before the third out. The Panthers lead did not allow the Hornets to get on base in the third, up 7-0 heading into the fourth inning.
Saint Jo loaded the bases with Trevor Conner and Reeves singles along with Harris drawing a walk. Unfortunately, the Panthers came away empty handed.
Era was able to get its leadoff batter on base thanks to an error that somehow had the runner settle on second base. The base runner then stole third base which allowed him to score on a passed ball to cut the lead to 7-1 heading into the fifth inning.
Colton Thomas drove in Tyler Cook on a triple to begin the inning. Jace Johnson then drove in Thomas on a fielder’s choice to extend Saint Jo’s lead to 9-1.
A fielding error from the Panthers allowed another run to score from the Hornets, cutting the lead to 9-2 after five innings.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Saint Jo added tow more runs in the final inning. Johnson drove in Thomas on a single. Two batters later Caleb Carlton pinch hit and came through with a single up the middle to drive in Johnson for the Panthers final runs.

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