The good news for the Russellville Panthers in district tournament action this week is that they played Logan County better in their third try. The bad news is that they lost 10-0 to the Cougars to end their season.
The Cougars had averaged 23.5 runs per game in the first two Clashes of the Cats. Their play in the district tournament showed marked improvement for Coach Tyler Meacham’s Panthers.
Panther pitcher Dillon Porter was pitching his final game for the Panthers before beginning college baseball. He gave up 11 hits but walked only one batter, his long-time friend Austin Rayno.
Jackson Steward pitched the shutout for the Cougars. He gave up two hits and a walk while striking out nine Panther batters. Hunter McDowell and Porter each got a hit. Porter also earned the walk.
Bradley Taylor, who has been on a power surge, homered twice and Kaleb Justice also hit a round-tripper. Also getting extra-base hits in the form of doubles were Third Bell, Braxton Meguiar, Dylan Penick, Koby Wall and Nick Wooden.
Taylor got three hits with Meguiar and Justice adding two each. Justice drove in four runs and Taylor three. Taylor and Meguiar scored three runs each.