Panthers head in to SEC play

The Mt. Pleasant baseball and softball teams were originally scheduled for a Southeast Conference tilt in Keokuk on Tuesday but the rain had other plans. Mt. Pleasant's SEC openers with Keokuk were postponed, which also stripped their title as 'SEC openers.”

The Panthers are still scheduled to open the 2019 conference slate this week, but if the rain stays away, they'll get to do it at home. The Panthers are scheduled for doubleheaders, in both baseball and softball, against Ft. Madison on Thursday, May 30.

The new-look Panther baseball team is coming off a second-place finish in 2018. The Panthers tied with Washington for second place, finishing one game behind SEC champion Fairfield. Ft. Madison was fourth, at 3-13, and Keokuk went 1-15 for last place.

The Panthers bring back just three starters from their end-of-season roster in 2018. Senior outfielder Chase Lamm, senior infielder and pitcher Bryce Anderson, and junior infielder Corbin Broeker are the only three starters back from last season.

Mt. Pleasant's pitching staff will also be looking for new faces to lead the way. Three current Panthers saw starts last season, with Anderson starting three games and both senior Trace White and junior Jaxon Hoyle starting one.

Although the Panthers couldn't secure the SEC crown in 2018, they did play spoiler at the end of the season. Mt. Pleasant's final SEC game of 2018 was a 4-1 win over Washington, which kept the Demons away from sharing the SEC title with the Trojans.

The Demons and Trojans seem to be the early favorites in 2019. Fairfield is expected to bring back six of their starters from last season, and Washington will bring back the first five hitters of their lineup.

The Panther softball team was involved in one of the craziest conference races of any sport last year. All five SEC teams were still in the hunt going into the final two weeks of the season.

Mt. Pleasant had a rough end of the year, dropping their final nine games overall, including four in conference and a first round regional loss to rival Fairfield. They ended the year 6-10 in the SEC for fourth place.

Keokuk and Washington split the SEC titles in 2018, finishing 10-6. Fairfield was one game behind them, going 9-7 for third. Ft. Madison finished last, going 5-12.

Unlike the baseball team, Panther softball brings back the bulk of last season's crew. The only senior on last year's squad was Chi Glaha, one of the top players in the SEC, but Mt. Pleasant will still have plenty of bullets in their 2019 holster.

Only three of the top eight hitters in conference games last season will return to the field in 2019. Luckily for Mt. Pleasant, two of those play for the Maroon and gold. Trinity Krabill had a .451 average in conference play last year, which is second among returning players, and Anni Liechty hit .447, which is third.

Thursday's games are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start time. The softball team will have a warmup game tonight (Wednesday), putting their 3-2 overall record up against Wapello on the road.