MP baseball wins five straight

By Andy Krutsinger, Mt. Pleasant News

The Mt. Pleasant baseball team has been on a tear since starting the season 0-5. The Panthers have won their last five games, four of which came by double-digits.

Mt. Pleasant swept Keokuk, 18-6 and 5-4 on Tuesday. They topped Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 10-0, on Wednesday and swept Ft. Madison 11-1 and 15-0 on Thursday.

The Panthers dominated the first game against Keokuk, thanks a huge day at the plate.

Zac Ebeling went 3-5 with four runs in the win. Cooper Huckabone was 1-3 with three RBIs. Pat Canby went 2-4 with two RBIs and Dalton Shull went 2-4 with two RBIs and a run. Trace White, Keegan Rich and Chase Lamm each scored three runs apiece.

Colby Potts picked up the win, going four innings and gave up four earned runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out seven batters. Jacob Fried and Riley McQuiggin each threw an inning and a half in the win.

Keokuk kept it close in game two, taking an early 1-0 lead in the second. Mt. Pleasant scored two runs each in the fourth and fifth but the Chiefs came back in the bottom of the fifth to tie it at 4-4.

In the top of the seventh, Lamm singled and stole a base with one out and Canby knocked him in to give the Panthers a 5-4 lead. Mt. Pleasant held on for the sweep.

Canby finished the game 2-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Huckabone was 0-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Lamm went 1-4 with two runs scored.

Shull, Bryce Anderson, Jordan Magnani and McQuiggin each pitched in the win. Magnani picked up the win, giving up just one hit over two innings and striking out two.

In Wednesday?s 10-0 win over EBF, Lamm had a huge day going 3-5 with five RBIs. Spencer Braun was 1-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Canby and Shull each had two hits with Shull scoring a team-high three runs.

Magnani and White combined for the shutout. Magnani threw two and one-third innings and gave up one hit and two walks, while striking out two. White went three and two-thirds innings, giving up two hits and one walk.

Mt. Pleasant cruised in both games on Thursday, reaching the mercy rule in both games.

In game one, the Panthers scored four runs in the first inning, two in the second, four in the third and one in the fifth. Ebeling was 3-3 with four RBIs. Huckabone scored three runs, and both Caleb Potts and Zach Beason had two RBIs.

Shull threw a complete-game in game one, going all five innings and giving up one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out five.

It only took the Panthers 3.5 innings to win it in game two, reaching 15 runs. They scored two in the first, five in the second and eight in the third.

Tucker Johnson led the team offensively in that game, going 3-3 with three RBIs. Canby was 2-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Beason threw four shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks, while striking out six batters.

After the game, head coach Brent Broeker praised the team?s offensive performance, especially after playing a tough start to the schedule.

?They see the reward I think this week, from facing all that good pitching,? Broeker said. ?They aren?t seeing 86-87 (miles per hour) every day. We?re seeing pitches that we can handle a little bit better and we?re making contact and hitting the ball around.?

The Panthers will be back in action on Saturday, June 3, when they return to non-conference play to take on Muscatine at 1 p.m.