Panthers pounce on Hatchets

Apr. 23—Evansville Reitz scored four runs in the first two innings and then made them stand up the rest of the way in a 5-1 win over Washington (5-9) at the Sports Complex on Monday.

The Hatchets did plenty of hitting with 11 hits, including loading the bases twice, but left 13 runners on and that proved to be the biggest difference in the game. However, six walks and and a hits batsman added to just five hits for Reitz put plenty of runners on.

"It's the same old song or dance. I mean, it's not like it's just happened once or twice. We've literally out-hit the last five opponents and lost four of those games. I don't know what the formula is but we've got to figure it out because we're getting on base. We're getting runners over and not getting them in. It's not that we're not hitting — we are. We're just can't string enough together to make a difference," said WHS coach Steve Reed.

The Panthers opened the game with three runs on just two hits in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead. Rylan Memering led off the Hatchet half of the inning but Reitz's Nate Arrington settled down and retired the next three.

Hatchet hurler Brody Clark loaded the bases in the second and Reitz added a run, but a double play ended ended the threat with just one run.

WHS had a threat of its own in the second, as Trey James singled and Harrison Merold doubled him to third, however, they were also victims of a well executed 5-2-5 double play to end the inning.

Clark settled down and got seven of the next eight batters, while John Chapman added a hard-hit single in the bottom of the inning and Alton Ostby also reached safely. Cooper Wright added an infield single to load the bases but again WHS was unable to score.

Chapman replaced Clark after 84 pitches in the top of the fourth and got three outs on just eight pitches for the Hatchets, while Arrington matched Chapman pitch-for-pitch in the bottom half of the inning.

Then with a runner on second, Reitz's Carter Vincent, a pinch hitter, also doubled in the fifth run to make it 5-0.

James and Merold reached in bottom of the sixth but neither were able to score as WHS left 11 men on through the first six innings.

In the seventh WHS got hits from Ben Merold and Clark, while Chapman reached on an error and allowed Merold to score the first and only run as the game ended 5-1.

WHS travels to Southridge on Tuesday and hosts Forest Park on Thursday.