Short-handed Panthers done in by No. 12 Burlington

BURLINGTON - The deck was stacked against the Mt. Pleasant softball team on Thursday night. The Panthers had their hands full with the 12th-ranked Burlington Grayhounds, on Burlington's home field and without the Panthers' star pitcher Sydni Coleman. The Panthers made the Grayhounds sweat a bit more than expected, but still fell short, losing 9-3.

Burlington got off to a fast start, scoring five runs in the first two innings, plating two runs in the first and three in the second to take a 5-0 lead. Just when it looked like the route was on, however, Mt. Pleasant put together their best chance of the game.

With the bottom of the order due up in the third inning, Mt. Pleasant utilized a wild inning from Burlington starter Kayla Norton to load the bases with one out. Hannah Newman brought one in on single, which hit a Panther runner behind the defender and that cut the lead to 5-1.

The Panthers had the middle of the order up down four runs, but Norton bounced back to strike out Samantha Broeker and force a Savana Walls fly out to keep the score at 5-1.

Burlington led 8-1 after a three-run third inning, but Newman gave up just one run from that point out. The Pantehrs added two more runs of their own in the fifth inning when Broeker brought two home with a double to cut the lead to 8-3.

Burlington added one insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Panthers had two runners on in the seventh, but couldn't capitalize.

'We came out tonight and I told them to leave it all out on the field,” Mt. Pleasant coach Troy Mears said. 'We know we're by far the underdogs, but let's give 110 percent, do all we can do and let's see what happens.”

It was a rare rocky season for Mt. Pleasant softball, which finished its 2020 campaign at 4-17. Coach Mears said he liked the fight his young team showed with its backs against the wall.

'They could have cashed it in when we were 4-10. They could have cashed it in when Sydni got hurt. I thought they seemed looser when they got here tonight, and they were kind of up and ready to go”

Burlington (17-6) is now one win away from a state tournament berth. The Grayhounds will get a bye in the regional semifinals since Oskaloosa's season was cut short during a COVID-19 quarantine. Burlington will either play No. 3 Fairfield or Ft. Madison on Tuesday night.