LaGrange split a doubleheader with Nichols (Mass.) on Saturday at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium. The Panthers (9-1) rallied for an 8-7 Game 1 win; then Nichols (1-2) held on for a 7-6 win in Game 2 to earn the split. The first game victory allowed the Panthers to match the 9-0 start by the 2003 team.
Game 1
The Panthers built a 4-1 lead through three innings. Cael Chatham doubled in two runs in the first inning. In the third, Jack Layrisson had an RBI double and Chatham drove in his third run with a sacrifice fly.
The Bison came back with four runs in the fifth and another run in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead. The Panthers answered with a four-run rally in the seventh.
The Bisons aided the Panthers with four errors in the inning. Chatham doubled to lead off the inning and later scored on Rhett Hebert's RBI single. Christian Dyer's sacrifice bunt brought home the second run of the inning. McKinley Erves and Joe Ruth both reached on errors that allowed two more runs to score for an 8-6 lead.
Ethan Kramer pitched the final two innings to pick up his fourth save of the season. He allowed a run in the ninth but closed out the inning by stranding the tying run at third.
Jack Richards (1-0) got the win with an inning of scoreless relief in the seventh. Dalton Brooks started for LC, pitching into the fifth inning. He allowed two runs on one hit, walked five, and struck out four.
The Panthers had 10 hits in the game. Chatham, Ruth, and Jack Layrisson each had two hits.
Game 2
Nichols jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings. The Panthers cut the deficit to one with a four-run rally in the sixth. Layrisson drove in the first run with a double down the right field line. Chatham followed with a base hit up the middle to drive in Layrisson. Jorge Fragoso struck out, but the ball got away, allowing Chatham to score. David Smigelski came home on another wild pitch to make it 5-4.
The Bison got two insurance runs in the top of the eighth to go up 7-4. The Panthers came back in their half of the inning to make it a one-run game again. They loaded the bases on a back-to-back singles by Chatham and Smigelski, then a walk to Rhett Hebert. With two outs, Adam Dorn dropped a base hit into left center, driving in Chatham and Smigelski to make it 7-6.
The Panthers got two runners on in the ninth on a walk to Layrisson and Smigelski's third hit of the game. But Bison reliever Owen Sullivan got out of the jam to earn his first save of the season.
Ethan Fry (1-1) took the loss for LC. He allowed five runs, four of those earned, in three innings. Michael Menhart pitched three scoreless innings.
Chatham and Dorn also had three hits as the Panthers finished with 11 hits. Chatham finished the doubleheader 5-for-8 with three doubles, three runs scored, and four RBIs.
The Panther host Eastern Mennonite in a three-game series at Cleaveland Field in Williamson Stadium beginning next Saturday with a doubleheader.
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