Defeat Collinsville 8-3
The North Hopkins Panthers traveled to Lindsay Thursday for the first day of the Lindsay tournament.
In their first game against Collinsville, North Hopkins found themselves trailing 2-0 after the first inning. In the top of the second inning the Panthers were able to get on the board for the first time, when Kevin Clement singled to bring in Karson Jenkins who reached base on a single to third base.
The Panthers kept the bats rolling in the top of the third inning, adding another three runs to take their first lead of the game.
With neither team scoring in the fourth, the Panthers adding another four runs to their lead in the top of the fifth inning. Collinsville scored one run in the bottom of the frame, but the Panthers won the game 8-3.
Brycen Gillespie was hot at the plate, going 3 for 4 on the game with a double and a pair of RBI. Gillespie scored a pair of runs as well. Jenkins and Clement each had multi-hit games, with Jenkins driving in two runs in the game. Clement got the win for the Panthers, going 4.1 innings pitched while allowing three runs, only one of them earned, on one hit while striking out 11.
North Hopkins would turn around and take on Blue Ridge next, who also started the game by scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning. Trailing 1-0, the Panthers put up a big four-run inning in the top of the second. The frame was kicked off with a leadoff walk from Tate Myers. Clement bunted to move Tate to second, and Geoffrey Stewart followed with a walk of his own to put runners on first and second with one out. Gavin Buccieri singled to bring in the tying run in Myers. Panthers leadoff man Jessie Rivera singled to bring in the go-ahead run, and Gillespie followed him with another single to bring in two more, to bring the Panthers lead to 4-1.
Blue Ridge tied things up with three runs in the bottom of the inning and would add one more run in the bottom of the third, and a pair of runs in the fourth. The Panthers were shut out for the remainder of the game and lost 7-4.
North Hopkins games for Friday were rained out. The Panthers will take on the Mount Pleasant JV team 4 p.m Monday in Mount Pleasant. Coverage of that game will be published in upcoming editions of the News-Telegram.