Panthers extend winning streak to 10
O'Fallon hitters have field day
BY ROD KLOECKNER
News-Democrat
O'FALLON --
The heavy-hitting O'Fallon Panthers know what to do with good scoring chances.The Panthers loaded the bases in four of the five innings during Monday's non-conference game against Althoff at Blazier Field and continually cashed in during a 14-4 victory.
The win was the 10th straight for O'Fallon (21-6), which scored seven times in the fifth inning to end the game via the 10-run mercy rule. During their current winning streak, the Panthers have scored 13 or more runs five times.
"The guys have been swinging the bats very well lately," said O'Fallon coach Jason Portz. "They certainly gave us a few opportunities with some of the bases on balls and plays that didn't go their way, and we jumped on them.
"There's been games over the years where we haven't necessarily jumped on top of a team in that situation, but I was happy to see it today."
Kyle Stanton, Nick Tindall, Brad Taake and Caleb Piatt each had two hits for the Panthers, who got at least one hit from eight of their nine starters.
O'Fallon also benefitted from seven walks, two hit batters and four errors by the Crusaders.
"You're certainly asking for trouble when you do that kind of stuff," said Althoff coach Brett Isaacs. "They hit the ball well -- they always do -- and they're a good ballclub, but a lot of it was our own mistakes. We can't stand prosperity. We get an out and pick a guy off, then walk the next guy.
"We give teams way too many outs. Too many walks, too many errors. We don't do simple things right now at all."
The frustration level is quickly reaching a peak for Isaacs, whose club has lost four straight to fall to 10-13. The kind of silly mistakes that are being made shouldn't be happening this late in the season.
"At times, we've played really well but we're in a stretch here where we're not," Isaacs said. "It's irritating, because it just doesn't seem like we're thinking ahead of the game. The ball is hit to us and we're not sure where to go, and a lot of it is we haven't thought about where to go if the ball is hit to us.
"That's troublesome. You try to teach them things but eventually, they have to be the ones making the plays."
Althoff actually had a 1-0 lead as leadoff hitter Rory Herrington hit the fourth pitch from O'Fallon starter Brandon Gass over the fence in right for an opposite-field homer.
After Althoff starter Kyle Witte wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, he wasn't so lucky in the second. Keith Wolf's three-run triple knocked out Witte.
John Merritt came on in relief and was greeted by an RBI single by Dakota Curlee to make it 4-1. O'Fallon loaded the bases in the third and scored three times with the aid of two errors.
Tindall's two-run double and Taake's two-run single contributed to O'Fallon's seven-run fifth.
"We seen something today that we haven't seen in awhile, and that's guys that were mixing it up and changing speeds," said Portz of Althoff's pitchers. "It seems like every time we've taken the field, we see guys throwing 85, 86, 87 mph. I thought our guys had good approaches and showed good discipline."
Portz was also pleased with the outing turned in by junior Sonnie Rollins. After a two-run double by Jay Sinovic knocked out Gass and pulled Althoff within 4-3 in the third, Rollins came on in relief.
He held the Crusaders to one run over the final 2 1/3 innings on a solo home run by Derek Bartsch.
"He's been able to throw in some short-relief stints, but he's a kid that's one of the top two arms in our program," Portz said. "You want to get your best arms on the mound, plain and simple. He was able to throw all three pitches for strikes tonight and that was key tonight."
Contact reporter Rod Kloeckner at rkloeckner@bnd.com or 239-2663.
