Senior Zack Denney had a game to relish Thursday as he led the Russellville Panthers past Butler County in the opening game of the Kelly Russell Classic at Kelly Russell Field.
Denney went four for four at the plate, scored three runs, drove in one, stole two bases, pitched a four-hit win, struck out 11 Bears and walked none, didn’t allow an earned run, and threw 70 strikes and just 20 balls.
Fellow senior Corey Wright doubled and singled and added an RBI. Also doubling was Logan Hannah. Joining them with hits were Jordan Blick, Jacob Procter, T.K. Hampton and Desmon Quarles. Blick and Procter were credited with RBIS.
Quarles scored two runs. Also scoring were Blick, Procter, Brennan Hughes and Evan Humphrey. Procter worked the only walk, and Quarles was hit by a pitch. Wesley Stratton, Blick and Quarles joined Denney with stolen bases.
Cody Casteel took the loss on the mound for the Bears. He gave up all those runs and hits but walked only one batter. Caleb Hunt, Eddie Phelps, Brandon Jones and Gage Ward got the hits for Butler.
The Panthers led 4-0 after an inning, Butler tied it in the second inning, and then the Panthers scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the second and then took a 9-4 lead in the third. There was no more scoring after that.
Kevin Bush of H&H Sheetmetal threw out the first pitch as the Panthers thanked the hometown industry for its continued support.
Jo Anne Russell Bennett was present for the game and saw her brother’s number 14 hung under the scoreboard. Principal Kim McDaniel also presented her a framed drawing of the special weekend.
Coach Greg Shelton’s Panthers will face University Heights Academy at 10 a.m. Saturday and Madisonville-North Hopkins at 3 p.m. In between, an observance of the 40th anniversary of Kelly Russell’s fatal accident while wearing a Panther baseball uniform will be held in the middle school gym at 1 p.m. See the related story on The LoJo at http://www.theloganjournal.com/Stories.aspx?Article=features185 .