Highland strikes out Panther baseball team

PACKWOOD ? A tough week for the Pekin baseball team got a little bumpier during Thursday night?s game vs. Highland.

Husky pitcher Zach Rozmus struck out 16 Panthers and allowed just four hits to get his team a 7-3 win and knock Pekin from atop the SEISC north division standings. With two runs across in the inning already, Pekin loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh for Zach Mosbey ? a .506 hitter and the Panthers? RBI leader ? but Rozmus showed off one last time and struck out Mosbey to end the game.

?16 strikeouts is too many, but we couldn?t have asked for a better situation there at the end,? said Pekin head coach Jeff Eeling.

Panther ace Dalton Stone took the loss, but allowed just seven hits to Highland, which is now tied with Pekin at two league losses heading into tonight?s doubleheader against division-leader IMS. A Highland win in either of the two games would put the Panthers back in a first-place tie.

Trenton Northup ripped an RBI double to lead the Pekin offense as Brady Lamb, AJ Neff and Gabe Dyer also picked up RBI hits for a senior-laden Panther team now just more than a week away from district play.

?We?re still trying to find out identity. We think we?re pretty good, but sometimes just don?t perform,? said Eeling of his once-ranked squad. ?The conference is now out of our control and our focus has to start turning toward the postseason and what we want to do there.?

Through some schedule-shifting, Pekin is set to take on Class 4A Muscatine at home tonight.