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Washington Evening Journal
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Panthers paw Keokuk
Mt. Pleasant baseball team sweeps SEC home doubleheader
MT. PLEASANT — After starting Southeast Conference play 0-2, the Mt. Pleasant baseball team is now 3-2 after a pair of wins against the visiting Keokuk Chiefs on Monday night.
Mt. Pleasant controlled Game 1, winning 11-1 in five innings, and battled through Game 2 for an 8-2 victory.
It was all Panthers in Game 1, as a 1-1 tie in the first inning quickly turned into a 7-1 Mt. Pleasant lead after two frames. Mt. Pleasant scored six runs in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth, and starting pitcher Jake Ensminger kept the Chiefs’ bats quiet all game long.
Ensminger would throw four innings, giving up one earned run on four hits and two walks, while striking out six batters. Zachary Newton pitched a scoreless fifth frame to end it.
Payson Coleman was 2-for-3 with two RBIs at the plate in Game 1. Payton Hagans went 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Zerek Venghaus, Payton Walker and Ensminger all knocked in runs.
It took a while for Mt. Pleasant’s bats to get going in Game 2. Keokuk had an 8-2 lead in the middle of the fifth inning, but the Panthers put up seven runs in their final two at-bats.
“We did swing it pretty well,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Brent Broeker. “The last game we struggled a little bit, but I thought our guys did a good job battling at the end.”
For the second-straight SEC night, it was sophomore J.C. Sitar who came up with the big hit. Just four nights after the game-winning RBI against Washington, Sitar broke a 2-2 fifth-inning tie with a two-out, two-RBI triple.
“Honestly, I'm just listening to my teammates and thinking positive comments,” said Sitar. “Anything they are saying to me, I'm repeating out there.”
Sitar had previously knocked in the go-ahead run in the sixth against Washington. In the fifth on Monday, he scampered around for his first triple of the season.
“I put all that onto Garrett (Cook),” Sitar said, referencing his senior teammate. “He said, ‘you’re here for a reason.’ I kept repeating that to myself, and it worked.’”
Carter Amos went 2-for-4 with a triple of his own and three RBIs to lead Mt. Pleasant in Game 2. Sitar finished 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Ensmigner knocked in one run.
After sending out Walker to throw the first inning in Game 2, Broeker went with Zerek Venghaus for the majority of the game. Vengheaus struck out four and gave up just one run over four innings of work. Hagans threw two scoreless innings to close it out.
The win moved Mt. Pleasant to 4-5 overall and 3-2 in SEC play. The Panthers will finish up the series against Keokuk, in Keokuk, on Thursday.
