Panthers explode in the sixth

Louisa-Muscatine gave Mt. Pleasant a sweat in their nonconference showdown on Tuesday night. The Falcons had the Panthers' lead down to one run in the top of the sixth, but the Panther bats erupted in the bottom of the sixth, dropping a nine-spot to win the game 12-2 in six innings.

The Panthers scored their first run in the second inning. Trace White came to the plate with Jaxon Hoyle on third base, and hit a deep fly ball to center field, plenty deep enough to plate Hoyle and give Mt. Pleasant a 1-0 lead.

It was dejavu in the fourth inning. Hoyle once again found himself on third base, and White was at bat. He jumped on the first pitch for the second-straight at-bat, sending a deep ball into center for another sac fly. Later in the inning, Chase Lamm scored on a double-steal, making it 3-0 after four frames.

Clayton Lowery had been dominant on the mound through the first five innings, and some Falcon mistakes on the base paths helped Lowery out. The Falcons didn't score on the Panther starter until a two-run top of the sixth that seemingly changed the flow of the game, cutting the lead to 3-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mt. Pleasant ended any hopes of an L&M road upset. Brennen Bender led the scoring off with a two-run double. Coble and Lowery each had RBI doubles of their own, and when the lead was 11-2 with one out and runners on first and third, Sawyer Carrasco stepped up and delivered the walk-off RBI on a grounder that was fumbled by the second basemen.

'I thought we struggled a little bit early with swinging the bats,” head coach Brent Broeker said after the game. 'Probably a bit of a honeymoon effect with big games last night. Our kids probably weren't as focused as they should have been, but hopefully against Marion tomorrow, we can come in focused and ready to go.”

Eight different Panthers had hits in the win. White went 1-1 with a triple and two RBIs. Bender was 1-1 with two RBIs. Bryce Anderson went 1-3 with an RBI, and both Coble and Lowery went 1-4 with a double and an RBI. Hoyle finished the game with a hit and three runs scored.

Lowery threw all six innings, giving up two earned runs on two hits and four walks, while striking out six batters. The Panthers have now given up five or fewer runs in 12 of their last 13 games.

'I think Lowery is getting more confident (and) Coble threw really well last night,” Coach Broeker said. 'They struggled a little bit earlier in the year. We get those guys going and then you've got your reliables like Anderson, White and Hoyle. If we can get the other two guys going, we'll be real solid.”

Mt. Pleasant is now 18-6 overall. They'll take on Marion tonight (Wednesday) in a nonconference game.