Early season woes have continued for the North Platte baseball team (0-5) as the Panthers are still searching for their first win of the season.
North Platte had some offensive struggles in the 3-1 loss to Northeast Nodaway (3-0) on March 29. The Panthers only had two hits all game long – from Landon Bartlett and Colton Kirkham – and a pair of first inning runs by the Blue Jays were a key factor.
Colton Kirkham had five strikeouts against East Buchanan in four innings at North Platte High School.
After North Platte opened the game with three straight outs on offense, Northeast Nodaway responded with a 2-RBI double to take an early 2-0 lead. In the top of the fourth inning, Bartlett reached first base on a fly ball to right field, and eventually stole second base.
Kirkham singled on a hard ground ball to left field and Bartlett scored. The Blue Jays matched the one run in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead, 3-1. Bartlett was on the mound for four innings and struck out seven batters, while Creek Johnson had one strikeout in two innings.
The Panthers’ next two games were against a pair of KCI opponents who were undefeated when North Platte matched up with them. Lawson (8-0) won 4-1 on March 31 and East Buchanan (5-0) took down North Platte 14-2 on April 1.
Against the Cardinals, North Platte fell behind 1-0 in the opening inning before tying the game in the top of the fourth inning. Kaden Mullendore singled on a fly ball to right field, sending Kirkham home.
North Platte had two errors in the bottom of the fifth inning, leading to three Lawson runs and the Panthers went scoreless the rest of the way. Jaxson Carpenter was on the mound for four innings and struck out seven batters.
The Bulldogs outhit the Panthers 13 to four with North Platte scoring both of its runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. East Buchanan walked two batters – and hit one – in the inning, to help put Wesley Meadows and Mullendore in scoring position when Chance Garber singled.
North Platte had four errors on the day with Kirkham striking out five batters in four innings. Following a 5-0 loss to St. Joseph Christian (5-1) on April 4, the Panthers will host KCI rival West Platte (3-3) on April 7.