Panthers victorious in first season game
It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the Siloam Springs baseball team emerged victorious in its season debut Monday at James Butts Baseball Complex.
The Panthers were opportunistic, capitalizing on seven Stilwell, Okla., errors, three hit batsmen and four walks while collecting nine hits in a 15-11 victory over the Indians.
“Overall, heck, we won a game,” said first-year Siloam Springs coach J Keith. “We battled. A game that I got a little worried there for a second. Kids get nervous. We started one freshman, four sophomores. We’re a young team when it comes down to it.”
Siloam Springs spotted Stilwell a 3-0 lead in the first inning aided by walks and errors, but the Panthers answered with four runs in the bottom of the first inning, scoring all of them without a base hit.
Stilwell committed five of its seven errors in the first leading to RBIs from Andrew Pilcher, Josiah Thompson and Alec Pearson.
After Stilwell tied the game 4-4 in the top of the second, Siloam Springs retook the lead with two runs in the second and third for an 8-4 lead after three innings.
Stilwell scored three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to tie game 8-8, but Siloam Springs scored two in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Landon Fain and a sacrifice fly from Bode Butler to go up back up 10-8.
Stilwell got a run back in the sixth to pull within 10-9, but the Panthers scored five in the sixth to take a 15-9 lead into the final frame.
Butler had an RBI walk and Jonathan Hyde drove in a run with a ground out, while Fain later scored on a balk.
Nolan Wills ripped an RBI triple to left center field and he scored on a base hit by Jackson Still.
Stilwell took advantage of a Siloam Springs error, a hit batter and three straight walks in the top of the seventh to score two runs, and the Indians had the bases loaded with one out.
Still retired the final two outs on a lineout and a strikeout to earn the save.
“Still comes in and gets the save , that’s good,” Keith said. “Stilwell’s a well coached team. They always are. They’re scrappy. Hit a bunch of balls where we weren’t. You could tell they were well coached. They did a lot of things really good.”
Nick Driscoll went 3 for 4 and scored four runs for Siloam Springs, while Fain was 2 for 2 with an RBI, three runs scored and reached base on all four plate appearances.
Butler had four RBIs, including a two-run single in the third inning, while Wills and Pilcher each scored two runs.
“Bottom of our lineup really carried us,” Keith said. “You look at Driscoll, at the five-hole, he had some big time hits. Landon Fain, Johnny Hyde, a freshman down there, I think he got on base twice. We had some really good stuff in the bottom half of the lineup. Not to take anything away from the top half. Nolan Wills had a triple. Pilcher hit the ball hard. Jackson Still, you’re going to hear that name a lot. We talked about it in the first interview but those football guys just seem to stand out other places too.”
Andrew Elkins pitched 4 1/3 innings of relief of starter Spencer Stephenson to record the win on the mound. Elkins had seven strikeouts.
“Spencer went out there, pitched OK, figured it out in the second inning,” Keith said. “We had a pitch number on them all. Spencer was at 50. Early in the season we were not wanting to go over it.”
Elkins’ pitch count was 70, but he convinced Keith to let him try and start the seventh inning.
“(Elkins) got to 70 and he conned me into letting him go back out there. I’ll be honest,” Keith said. “And he said coach if I go out there and get three in a row can I go back out there? And I said yeah, but I’m cutting you at 85.”
Elkins struck out the first batter in the seventh but was relieved after an error at third base.
The Panthers were scheduled to play at Prairie Grove on Tuesday afternoon. Results were not available at presstime.
Siloam Springs is back in action Thursday at Pea Ridge.
SILOAM SPRINGS 19, GENTRY 8
The Panthers defeated Gentry in an Arkansas Activities Association benefit game on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Gentry.
Siloam Springs scored two runs in the first inning and sixth in the second and three in the third to take an early 11-2 lead. Siloam Springs led 12-6 after seven innings and three additional innings were played, where Siloam Springs scored seven more runs.
Ten pitchers each threw one inning a piece for Siloam Springs.