EARLHAM — The Panorama and Earlham baseball teams managed to play both ends of a WCAC doubleheader around the rainstorms Tuesday, with the Cardinals winning both contests.[wpedon id=”82220″ align=”center”]
Earlham was the visiting team in posting a come-from-behind 8-4 win in the opener, and were the hosts while rallying to run off with a 19-9 victory in the nightcap. The wins pushed the Cardinals to 11-10 overall and 6-6 in conference play and made Earlham winners in 10 of their last 12 games after a 1-8 start. Panorama fell to 3-11 and 3-9 with the setbacks.
Panorama was off to a 4-0 lead after four innings in the first game before Earlham plated seven runs in the top of the sixth and a final run in the seventh to snare the victory.
Jason Hopp allowed eight hits and four walks while striking out three and yielding four runs, three of them earned.
Hopp aided his own cause with three singles at the plate, with Garrett Boyle hitting a two-run double.
Luke South was handed the loss on the hill. He tossed 5-1/3 innings, surrendering seven runs on nine hits and three walks while fanning five. Jacob Iseminger threw 1-1/3 frames in relief, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a hit batsman.
South had a base hit, two steals, a walk and a run for the Panther offense, with Koltin Sloss adding a hit and a walk. Tanner Godfrey had the hot bat, stroking three singles and stealing a base while scoring twice.
Dominic Walker, Preston Walker and Hunter Holmes had one hit apiece for Panorama, with Levi Richey providing three sacrifices while scoring once.
The Panthers were out to a 6-4 lead after three frames in the second game, but the Cardinals plated eight runs in the bottom of the fourth to seize a 12-6 advantage. Panorama scored three times in the fifth to close to within range, down 12-9, but seven Earlham tallies in the bottom of the frame doubled the Panther total, with a final run in the sixth ending the game early.
Both teams used a covey of pitchers, with Alex Caskey collecting the win despite allowing nine runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks in 4-2/3 frames. Quinn Weber allowed a hit and a walk in one inning on the bump, with Chris Hipsley striking out one for the only out he pitched.
Gavin Boyle had a single and a double while driving in four runs for the Cardinals, with Garrett Boyle adding two base hits and three RBIs. Earlham benefited mightily from drawing nine walks and having five batters hit with pitches.
Iseminger threw two innings, yielding three runs (two earned) on two hits, with Holmes allowing seven runs on three walks, three hits and three hit batsmen in 1-1/3 frames. Noah Kirtley tossed one frame, yielding four runs on a walk and three hits while Sloss was touched for five runs (one earned) on one hit, five walks and two plunked batters while striking out three in 1-1/3 innings.
Steve Soreide had two singles and was himself hit by two pitches, with Iseminger adding two singles and a RBI. Richey had two singles and was hit by a pitch, with Dominic Walker providing three singles and a RBI while walking once. Sloss and Holmes also had RBIs for the Panthers.
Panorama will face host Woodward Academy (weather permitting) for a conference twin bill today. The first game will begin at 3:15 p.m.
