Panthers look for revenge in district quarterfinals

After almost a full week of rest following the regular season, the band is getting back together for what hopes to be a memorable postseason run. Mt. Pleasant baseball, Henry County's last hope this summer, will begin their district tournament on Friday, July 19, in Fairfield.

The Panthers will be facing an all-too familiar foe in an all-too familiar situation. One year after getting bounced by Clear Creek-Amana in the district first round, the Panthers look to be back with a vengeance against the same squad on Friday.

The Clippers didn't just clip the Panthers in last year's district opener. They cut them apart, knocking Mt. Pleasant out 14-3 in a five-inning game.

Luckily for Mt. Pleasant, the middle of the 2018 CCA lineup was full of seniors. The pitcher, first basemen and catcher of last year's game were all seniors. Those three batters made up the 2-3-4 spots in the lineup, going a combined 4-7 with eight RBIs.

Members of the CCA team who will be playing on Friday include Ben Swails, who went 2-4 with a home run and four RBIs in last year's game, when he was just an eighth-grader. Another current freshman who burned Mt. Pleasant last year is Sam Young, who went 2-2 with a double and three runs scored from the leadoff spot last season.

As Panther fans know, the 2019 team is full of new faces. A Mt. Pleasant team that was expected to finish third at best in the SEC put together a dream season, going 20-10 overall and winning a share of the SEC title.

Mt. Pleasant comes into the postseason with three batters hitting over .300. Chase Williamson is hitting .366. Nik Coble bats .351, and Clayton Lowery hits .330. Coble and Lowery have also combined for 46 RBIs.

The Panthers will likely turn to either Coble or Jaxon Hoyle to start against the Clippers. Coble is 3-2 with a 2.28 ERA this season and Hoyle is 7-1 with a 2.87 ERA.

A win on Friday would advance the Panthers to Monday's district final, which will also be held in Fairfield. The MP-CCA winner will take on either the hosting Trojans or Ft. Madison.

The Trojans swept the Bloodhounds in the regular season. Now sixth-ranked Fairfield won the two games in Ft. Madison 9-0 and 8-3, and then took the two home games 2-0 and 11-6.

No. 2 Davenport Assumption is the favorite in the other district in the substate. They'll play Keokuk on Friday in Washington, with the Demons hosting Mt. Vernon in the other district semifinal.

The substate championship will be decided on Wednesday, July 24, at 7 p.m. The game will be hosted by the highest remaining seed in the tournament.