Lady Panthers fall against Wolfe City

COMMERCE — The North Hopkins Lady Panthers suffered their third loss in a row Friday with a 16-5 loss to the Wolfe City Lady Wolves at Commerce High School. The game was originally slated to be played at North Hopkins High School, but was moved to Commerce due to weather. Despite building a 2-0 lead in the first two innings, the Lady Panthers were outscored 16-3 the rest of the way, leading to the loss.

The Lady Wolves came to the plate first, where they faced Daylee Fite in the circle. After a strikeout and a fly out, the Lady Wolves gained two base runners on a double and a walk. Their turn ended soon after with another strike out.

The Lady Panthers began the bottom of the first inning with Sailan Adair hitting a single. However, Adair would later be caught stealing third base.

After Fite reached base on an error, Stevanna Buchanan would hit a single. After Fite was caught stealing home, Lucy Hernandez would hit an RBI double, bringing Buchanan home and giving the Lady Panthers a 1-0 lead. The first inning ended when Hadlee Hrabal struck out.

The Lady Wolves would go down in order to begin the second inning, following a strikeout and two ground outs.

The bottom of the second started with Krystal McPherson striking out. Two base runners were gained soon after when Mariana Aguilar walked and Fernanda Hernandez was hit by a pitch.

After Aguilar was caught stealing home, Chloe Launuis walked. After Adair walked, Fite would swat an RBI single, bringing Hernandez home and raising the score to 2-0. The inning ended when Buchanan grounded out.

The Lady Wolves began the third inning with three consecutive singles, loading the bases. After a strikeout, a 3-RBI double would give the Lady Wolves a 3-2 lead. Following a single, where a runner was tagged out at third base, a strikeout ended the Lady Wolves’ turn.

The bottom of the third inning started with Hernandez grounding out and Hrabal being tagged out on a dropped third strike. Though the Lady Panthers gained two base runners when McPherson was hit by a pitch and Aguilar walked, their turn ended when Evie Fuentes-Perry struck out.

The Lady Wolves began the fourth inning with a fly out. After an error and a ground out, an RBI triple would increase their lead to 4-2.

An RBI single followed, raising the score to 5-2. Their turn came to an end after a strikeout.

The bottom the fourth began with Launuis striking out. Though Adair would hit a single on the next at-bat, two outs followed when Fite lined out and Buchanan grounded out, ending the fourth inning.

Buchanan would relieve Fite in the circle of the fifth inning. After an error and a strikeout, a pair of RBI singles raised the Lady Wolves’ lead to 7-2. Following an error, an RBI single brought the score to 8-2, and a runner was tagged out advancing to home.

Another RBI single followed, as the Lady Wolves now led 9-2. Another error followed, but a runner was tagged out at third, ending the Lady Wolves’ turn.

The Lady Panthers quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning when Hernandez hit a single and both Hrabal and McPherson were hit by pitches. Though Aguilar grounded into a fielder’s choice on the next atbat, no outs occurred and Hernandez scored, trimming the score to 9-3.

Aguilar grounded into a double play on the next at-bat, where she was out a first and Hrabal was out at home. Despite this, McPherson scored on an error, trimming the score to 9-4.

After Emily Garcia was hit by a pitch and Chelsea Jolly walked to load the bases, Adair walked, bringing Launius home and making the score 9-5. The inning ended when Fite grounded out.

The sixth inning began with a triple. An RBI single would bring the Lady Wolves’ lead to 10-5. After a fly out, a walk,and a single, an RBI single made the score 11-5.

Another RBI single made the score 12-5. A walk followed to bring the score to 13-5. An RBI single and 2-RBI single came next, as Wolfe City built the score to 16-5. Their turn ended after a pair of fly outs.

The bottom of the sixth started with Buchanan grounding out. After Hernandez hit a single and Hrabal reached base on an error, McPherson walked.

This was followed by Aguilar grounding into a fielder’s choice, where Hernandez was tagged out at home. The game ended when Garcia struck out, as the Lady Panthers suffered a 16-5 loss.

As a team, the Lady Panthers batted 7 for 24 (.292) from the plate. Adair and Lucy Hernandez both recorded two hits each, with Buchanan, Fite, and Launuis adding one each.

Buchanan, Fernanda Hernandez, Lucy Hernandez, Launius, and McPherson all scored one run each.

Fite suffered the loss in the circle. Across 4 2/3 innings, she recorded six strikeouts, 10 hits, five runs, three earned runs, and one walk. In 1 1/3 relief innings, Buchanan finished with nine hits, 11 runs, eight earned runs, two walks, and one strikeout.

With the loss, the Lady Panthers dropped to 1-4 in district play and 4-7 overall. They will look to get back on track Tuesday, when they travel to Merit to face off agains the Bland Lady Tigers.