Panthers slip past Tri-County

SIGOURNEY ? The games were a little shorter than usual, but runs were still plentiful Saturday as the Pekin softball team crossed the plate 14 times.

The Panthers split a pair of five-inning contests in Sigourney, rallying for a 9-8 victory against Tri-County before falling 11-5 to host Sigourney.

?We swung the bats pretty well and took some good swings on them,? said Pekin head coach Bryan Marlay. ?Hitting is contagious ? that?s one thing I?ve gound out over the years.?

In the first game against Tri-County, Pekin jumped out to a 8-1 lead, but Tri-County rolled off seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead. Pekin junior Leslie Stone hit the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the fifth to seal the win.

From the mound, Stone carried a one-hitter into the fifth inning before running into control issues. The junior walked eight batters in the inning and exited with six earned runs credited to her name.

?We did a nice job of jumping out early, but then we kind of let down a bit and gave them too many free passes,? said Marlay.

Pekin?s Paige Jensen was hot from the plate in the first game, going 3 for 3 with a double and triple. She also had two RBI and two runs scored. Maranda Baker went 2 for 3 and knocked in three batters, and Cheyann Lankford finished 2 for 4.

Stone (3-2) again took the mound in the second game, but the heavy workload seemed to catch up to her as she took the loss. The junior allowed seven earned runs in three innings of work, walking six batters while fanning four. Lankford relieved Stone in the bottom of the fourth inning and allowed an additional earned run.

Baker tacked on another couple extra base hits, including a two-bagger and triple, while driving in two runs. Stone was 1 for 2 with a home run and two RBI, Lankford went 1 for 3 and scored two runs and Kelsey Molkenthin finished 1 for 3 from the plate.

?[Sigourney?s] pitcher does a nice job of moving the ball around, but I was really impressed with the way Sigourney hit the ball,? said Marlay.

Pekin (3-2, 2-1 SEISC north) plays a JV/varsity doubleheader at Columbus today.