Panther baseball eliminated

DeWitt — The Mt. Pleasant baseball team went into DeWitt looking for a major upset in the Class 3A Substate 5 tournament. The Panthers visited the top-seeded Sabres with a spot in the Substate final on the line.

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Mt. Pleasant gave the top seed a game, but Central DeWitt had too much at the end, knocking the Panthers out 8-3.

Central DeWitt had things going early, scoring one run each in the first three innings against Mt. Pleasant starter Payton Walker, who had to work under a three-run deficit after three frames.

Mt. Pleasant’s offense took advantage of some shaky Sabre defense in the fourth to score the Panthers’ first run of the game, but the Panthers left runners on to keep the score at 3-1.

Central DeWitt scored the next four runs of the game, taking a 7-1 lead after four innings, which put the Panthers’ backs against the wall.

Mt. Pleasant senior Payton Hagans had the big hit of the night for Mt. Pleasant in the fifth inning. Hagans launched a two-run home run, the first of his high school career, and Mt. Pleasant was back in the game, trailing 7-3.

A passed ball led to a Sabre run in the bottom of the fifth, giving Central DeWitt some extra cushion, with an 8-3 lead. Mt. Pleasant couldn’t cut into the advantage any further.

The Panthers had runners on in the final two innings, but the Central DeWitt defense turned a pair of double plays to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.

Mt. Pleasant ended the season 22-9 overall. The Panthers finished second in the Southeast Conference, with a 10-4 record.

It was the most wins for a Panther baseball team since the summer of 2017, and the highest winning percentage for Mt. Pleasant since 2011.

Central DeWitt (24-12) moved on to play second-seeded Assumption (26-13) in Wednesday night’s Substate final.