Stellar Pitching and Outstanding Hitting Leads to Panthers' WinBy: Jon Zaghloul ![]() Crestwood, Ill. – July 10, 2019 – For a game that was originally on the verge of cancellation due to field accessibility issues, the Panthers, in retrospect, are quite pleased with the fact that the game was played. Despite being the designated "away" team at their home field, along with operating under a seven inning time crunch, Crestwood overcame the situational adversity, soundly defeating the Southland Vikings 9-2 on Wednesday night. For the Panthers, it all began with their astonishing offensive attack. In the first inning alone, Crestwood plated four runs, effectively ambushing MCL All-Star pitcher Zach Litke. After a Maurey Garrett (Heartland CC / Flossmoor, Ill.) lead-off single, Ray Hilbrich (Purdue University-Northwest / Schererville, Ind.) initiated the barrage, launching an RBI triple to center field. Mike Machnic (Kankakee CC / Chicago, Ill.) later drove in Hilbrich with a base-hit, and then, later in the inning, Austin De La Cruz (Beloit College / Kailua Kona, Hawaii) recorded a two-out, two-RBI double. Thus, the Panthers' emphatic opening to the game ended up setting the table for an excellent pitching performance by Breven Daugherity (Chicago State / Chicago, Ill.). Although his final line included two earned runs over four innings of work, he twirled three perfect innings before surrendering an infield single early on in the fourth. "Today was just a great showing all-around; we played well on both sides of the baseball," said Manager Isaac Valdez. "It was really fun to be apart of and again, this is something that this team has always been capable of doing. Look, we tend to play this way when we throw the vast majority of our pitches as strikes. So, I hope that through today's game, our other pitchers watched what Breven and Noah Mathias (Roosevelt University / La Porte, Ind.) did, and can learn from their success on the mound." Mathias, who entered the game in relief of Daugherity, spun three innings of scoreless baseball, while striking out five and walking none. Although the effects of dehydration hampered his momentum near the game's end, Mathias continued to prove the legitimacy of his selection to the MCL All-Star Game. Across the board, when combining Mathias and Daugherity's numbers, both pitchers did not issue a walk, adding individual strike percentages of 72 and 75 percent, respectively. According to Valdez, those strike percentages played an important role in the team's success on the mound. "It's not all about velocity at this level," said Valdez. "Sure, velocity always helps, but when you can throw strikes, and throw your fastball where you want, that just maximizes everything else that you have in your arsenal. Throwing strikes is going to do great things for you, and it did for us today." As for the Panthers at the plate, following the team's four-run first inning, they continued to tack on extra insurance throughout the game. Overall, every player in Crestwood's starting lineup recorded a hit, with the exception of one. Blake Soria (Benedictine University / Homer Glen, Ill.) went two for four with two runs scored, Tim Fauth (North Park University / Elk Grove, Ill.) hit a perfect 1.000, posting three hits in three at-bats, while Hilbrich, Machnic, and De La Cruz each added two hits apiece, while combining for six RBIs. "You're going to win lots of games with 15 hits, and at least seven of them being extra-base hits," said Valdez. "We pounded the baseball today, and that, along with our pitching, played a huge role in the end result." For the Panthers, Wednesday's win marks their second in a row, and the first throughout the season that they've won consecutive games. Their next matchup features a visit from the Northwest Indiana Oilmen at Howie Minas Field on Thursday night. Coverage starts at 7 p.m. on the Oilmen Broadcast Network, available via Facebook Live. |
![]()
Browse by Month »
November 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 February 2018 December 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 January 2016 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 December 2013 November 2013 September 2013 August 2013 June 2013 January 2013 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 February 2011 |