Six Panther errors and 11 Tarkio with Fairfax (10-6) hits halted the North Platte baseball team’s (10-9) chance to clinch a winning season with an 11-8 defeat on May 9.
The Panthers scored the opening two runs of the contest, but the dominos started to fall when North Platte had two errors and Tarkio with Fairfax had four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Panthers never regained the lead, but they fought back after the deficit reached five runs.
North Platte added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning – closing the gap to 8-5 – when Colton Kirkham had an RBI single and a Tarkio with Fairfax error led to another Panther run. Tarkio with Fairfax responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and North Platte put together one last ditch effort with three runs in the ensuing inning.
North Platte sophomore Colton Kirkham has helped lead the Panthers to the fifth seed in the Class 2 District 15 Tournament.
The Panthers’ sixth error of the game led to another Tarkio with Fairfax run in the bottom of the sixth inning and then all three North Platte batters failed to reach first base in the top of the seventh inning, causing its two-game winning streak to come to an end. Kirkham had three hits and four RBIs, while Landon Bartlett had five strikeouts in four innings on the mound.
Entering the matchup with Tarkio with Fairfax, North Platte was playing its best baseball in years. The Panthers had won 10 of their previous 13 games, most of which were decided by three or more runs.
North Platte secured the No. 5 seed in the Class 2 District 15 Tournament and will open the postseason against Mid-Buchanan (8-6), who the Panthers beat 8-6 during the regular season, at 3 p.m. on May 14. North Platte has failed to win a postseason game since 2018, but it has a chance to end that dry spell this year.