New players no problem for Panthers

Klein Oak made the playoffs for the first time in three years last season, then graduated most of its key players.

But with newcomers stepping up, the Panthers are winning again.

They went 4-1 in each of their first two tournaments and beat Memorial 8-5 on Monday to improve to 9-4 overall.

“We had some returning letterman, (but) we didn’t have guys with much experience,” coach Bo Hernandez said. “But we’ve had a lot of underclassmen step up this year and go out there and perform and produce so far.”

The Panthers’ third tourney was cancelled, so they added three non-district games and struggled in the first two.

They lost 6-5 to Deer Park and 6-2 to College Park.

“We’re still just trying to find the right lineup that’s going to make us more consistent,” Hernandez said.

They bounced back as a team against Memorial.

Junior lefthanded pitcher Jackson Dietel earned the win against Memorial.

Other key Panthers include senior returners Mitchell Howe at catcher, Rhett Tomberlin in center field, Conner Eddy, who is their cleanup hitter, in left field and Andrew Morgan on the mound.

Howe, Tomberlin and junior shortstop Eduardo Malinowski pace the team offensively.

Klein Oak opened District 15-6A play Tuesday against Dekaney. It faces Westfield at 6 p.m. Thursday at home.

“We’re looking to be playoff contenders,” Her- nandez said. “We always try to set our expectations high, with winning a district championship, but if we miss our goal, then we want to be in contention for that playoffs.” Jason McDaniel is a freelance writer who can be reached at jasonrmcdaniel@outlook.com.