LCMS baseball

The Lewis County Middle School Panthers opened their 2022 baseball season on the road at Fairview Middle against the Falcons on Monday, February 28th.

From the first pitch of the game the Panthers began to build momentum as Maddox Tanner drew a leadoff walk and Dakota Hull rifled a single to center. Tanner would score moments later, on a wild pitch, and Hull moved into scoring position and was plated by a Keegan Carroll-Clayton fielder’s choice and the Panthers took a 2-0 lead after a half-inning. Jalen Smith took the mound to start the game for the Panthers and was able to retire the first two Falcon batters before an error and walks pushed a run across before retiring the final out, and the Panthers held a 2-1 lead after one. One-out singles by Phenix McDonald and Dakota Hull, and the help of 2 Falcon errors, allowed the Panthers to bring home 4 runs in the visitor second to take a 6-1 lead. Jalen Smith retired the Falcons in order in the second, 2 by strikeout, and the score remained 6-1. Kolt Skelton and Nate James reached on consecutive singles to start the third but were left stranded. Dakota Hull relieved Smith in the third and issued a leadoff walk before sitting down three straight with strikeouts, and Lewis County held on to a 6-1 lead. Hull singled to start the fourth and would score during Braylon Bean’s at bat that resulted in a walk, and the Panthers would lead 7-1 moving into the bottom half of the 4th. Hull would work around a leadoff walk in the home fourth to keep the 7-1 lead. The Panthers went down in order on strikeouts in the fifth, and Maddox Tanner replaced Hull on the mound in the bottom half. Consecutive walks and an error, followed by 2 singles pushed across 3 more Falcon runs and the Panther lead was cut to 7-4 as play moved on to the sixth inning. Tanner and Hull walked to start the visitor sixth, and Braylon Bean drove in two in his at bat with a single to right. With two down in the top of the sixth Nate James delivered a two-run single to right to give the Panthers a 10-4 lead. Kolt Skelton came on in relief in the sixth and worked around 3 walks, striking out 3, to seal the Panther win.

Dakota Hull had 3 hits, 4 runs, and an RBI to lead the Panthers, Nate James 2 hits and 2 RBI, Braylon Bean a hit, a run, and 2 RBI, Phenix McDonald a hit, a run, and an RBI, Kolt Skelton 1 hit, Maddox Tanner 3 runs, Keegan Carroll-Clayton an RBI, and Cayleb Moore 1 run scored. Jalen Smith went 2 innings on the mound in the win, giving up no hits and striking out 4 while walking 2, Dakota Hull went 2 innings, gave up no hits, struck out 6 and walked 2, Maddox Tanner gave up 3 runs on 2 hits while striking out 3 and walking 3 in one inning of work, and Kolt Skelton went 1 inning, gave up no hits, struck out 3 and walked 3.