No. 15 Panther girls go 1-1 in Ottumwa

OTTUMWA - The 15th-ranked Mt. Pleasant softball team won one and lost one in Ottumwa on Friday night. The Panthers had an 11-5 comeback win over Davis County but fell 13-3 to the hosting Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 6 in Class 5A.

In the Davis County game, Mt. Pleasant fell behind early when the Mustangs put up two runs in the first inning. Mt. Pleasant cut the lead in half with a run in the third, and then snatched the lead in the fourth with six runs.

The Panthers put up four runs in the sixth inning to stretch the lead to 11-2. Davis County scored three in the fifth, but the damage had already been done.

The Panthers were tied 1-1 with Ottumwa after the first inning in game two. Ottumwa scored three in the third, three in the fourth and one in the fifth to go up 8-1.

Mt. Pleasant cut the lead down to five, at 8-3, with two runs in the sixth. Ottumwa put up five in their half of the sixth to end the game early via the 10-run rule.

The Panthers are enjoying their time just inside the top-15 rankings in Class 4A. Mt. Pleasant is the only Southeast Conference team in the poll.

Mt. Pleasant is now 13-5 overall. They'll take on Ft. Madison on the road tonight (Friday) in a doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m. First-place Fairfield (7-1) and third-place Washington (5-3) are also going at it tonight, so the Panthers could move in to first place with sweep and a little help.