By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
INDEPENDENCE, Ore.– Man, the Central Baseball team doesn’t know how to quit.
It wasn’t the start they were hoping for, trailing the Foxes 2-0 going into the bottom half of the fourth inning despite giving up two hits up to that point. But it didn’t matter, because things were about to flip in their favor here in the bottom half of the fourth inning.
Central drew two base runners, one off a hit batter and another off a walk before Silverton picked up back-to-back outs. James Collier, who got the start for Silverton, picked up a strikeout while forcing a pop out for the other and looked as if momentum was coming back to the favor of the Foxes when disaster struck for them that benefited the Panthers.
Santi Alarcón singled to drive in a run. As the Foxes relayed the ball home in an attempt to limit the damage, Silverton tried to record the third out by throwing to third with Central advancing the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position. The throw sailed wide of the mark, allowing both runners to score and giving the Panthers a 3–2 lead.
Eventually, Silverton got the final out to get out of the inning. But things in the game felt as if momentum went on the side of Central going into the fifth.
Alarcon, who came in for relief of Max Ferris in the fourth, road the momentum that he and the offense produced in the bottom half of the fourth inning and held Silverton to one hit over the three-and-a-third innings he pitched.
It kept the bats of Silverton off-guard, but it wasn’t until the bottom half of the sixth inning where they, the Panthers, added insurance runs. Five actually, including a two-run Home Run by Easton Herbert, that gave the Panthers all they needed to close out the 8-2 home victory.
“Just knowing that we can do it, it’s really going to help. Just having guys around to keep it going,” said Herbert. “Just having guys around you who always pick you up and build each other up, cheering us on. A ton of energy helps that.”
For Silverton, they’ll get a chance on Wednesday to try to even up the series with Central. This game served as a good learning experience in preparing for that game and being ready for whatever comes their way when the two squads meet up again.
“What we could learn from this game is that we can never get comfortable and we always have to step on the gas when it comes to playing teams like this that can fight back. They put some good swings on baseball’s and they capitalized on it, they’re a good hitting team,” said Collier, who struck out nine in five innings of work.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
