Park Hill South quickly gave back a pair of leads in a Northland Tournament finale played Friday, April 22 in Independence, Mo.
In the top of the first, the Panthers struck for four funs, but Fort Osage answered with five in the bottom of the inning. The Indians then overcame a brief one-run deficit in the third before putting up another big inning in the sixth and pulling away for a 14-8 win.
Park Hill South used five pitchers total in a fourth game in four days, eventually wearing out during a six-run bottom of the sixth inning.
Malik Stevenson led off the game with a triple, and Colin Farrow followed with an RBI single to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. An error and passed ball led to a pair of unearned runs with Andrew Aswegan and Ryan Hagen also hitting run-scoring singles to increase the lead to 4-0.
Fort Osage then sent 10 to the plate, scoring five with help from starter Frank Wood’s three walks issued.
Stevenson walked to lead off the second, and scored on Ryan Callahan’s sacrifice fly two batters later. Park Hill South then went back in front 6-5 in the top of the third, but the Indians didn’t allow another run until the sixth.
Chase Putnam allowed a pair of runs to Fort Osage in the bottom of the third, and the Indians scored another to go up 8-6 in the fifth.
Park Hill South tied the score again after Stevenson’s second triple, an RBI groundout for Farrow and Aswegan’s RBI double to center field. A wild pitch put Aswegan at third with the potential go-ahead run, but he was stranded there, one of seven the Panthers left on base.
In the bottom of the sixth, Fort Osage scored six against three different relievers. The Indians batted 11 total, drawing three walks to go with five hits.
Fort Osage drew 10 walks total.
Park Hill South 2, Kearney 0
Jake Evans tossed a shutout for the Panthers’ lone win in pool play.
Allowing just three hits and no walks Thursday, April 21 at Park Hill South High School in Riverside, Mo., Evans retired the first 10 batters he faced before scattering three singles in three separate innings. Kearney advanced only one of the runners to second base, stranding Robby Collier there in the seventh inning.
Park Hill South had at least one runner in every inning but stranded six in addition to four lost on the base paths.
Jake Kline gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third after reaching on a hit by pitch with one out. He scored two batters later on a Ryan Callahan single. They doubled the lead in the fourth with Colin Farrow’s single driving in Jacob Thigpen after his leadoff double.
Evans struck out five and needed just 83 pitches for his complete game.
Liberty North 5, Park Hill South 2
A pair of errors led to two unearned runs in the first inning Wednesday, April 20, and the Panthers didn’t recover at Park Hill South High School.
Park Hill South trailed 4-0 after the top of the fourth before Callahan reached after being hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth. He scored four batters later on Ryan Hagen’s double to left field.
Kline’s RBI single in the fifth cut the deficit to 4-2.
Platte County 2, Park Hill South 1
The Panthers let a lead slip away in the late innings of their pool play opener Tuesday, April 19 in Riverside, Mo.
Playing as the visitor at Park Hill South High School due to inclement conditions in Platte City, Park Hill South took an early 1-0 lead when Kline led off with a single and came around to score on singles from Callahan and Jacob Thigpen with no outs. The Panthers ended up with just three more hits against Platte County starter Colton Horn, including doubles for Brandon Rice and Ryan.
Rice didn’t advance from second in the top of the third, and Platte County catcher Justin Mitchell picked off a pinch runner for Hagen in the third in the bottom of the fourth.
Hagen started and allowed just three hits and a walk in the first five innings before Mitchell led off the sixth with a double. Kodee Martin followed with an RBI single to tie the score, but the Pirates ended up stranding him at third and Jerod Thomas at second.
Mitchell then drove in the winning run with a walkoff single in the seventh.