Baseball Panthers have shot out to an 11-1 start

On March 17, the O’Fallon Panthers baseball team walked off the field on the short end of an 11-1 score against Joliet Catholic. The date was a significant one since it was the only time in the first three weeks of the 2017 diamond campaign that Coach Jason Portz’s OTHS squad has tasted defeat. Since the loss, the Panthers have reeled off nine consecutive victories and entering this week’s competition boasted a scintillating 11-1 overall record.

The string of impressive triumphs began with a perfect record on their annual southern trip, which ended with the local squad capturing the Louisville Slugger tournament championship. Returning to more familiar territory, the Panthers opened Southwestern Conference play with a pair of victories over Alton and Collinsville. The run continued this past weekend with wins over Machesney Park Harlem and Chaminade in their own round robin tourney.

“We have been getting exceptional pitching performances and timely hitting during the first weeks of our season,” said Portz. “Defensively, our kids have been outstanding, and offensively our entire line-up has been swinging the bats with confidence and purpose. Our start to the season indicates the amount of preparation and hard work our players have put in during the off-season. Beginning any season successfully does not happen by chance. It’s been a great start that we are committed to continuing.”

OTHS 5 Alton 4

Alton provided the Panthers with their first conference test, and the Redbirds produced the stiffest challenge of the week, jumping to a 3-0 lead after the first three innings of play. OTHS started Hayden Juenger was touched for the early Alton runs, but his teammates got him off the hook with a four-run uprising in the bottom of the fourth. Brayden Arnold, hitting lead-off for the Panthers, fueled the OTHS attack, banging out two hits in three plate appearances and driving in two of O’Fallon’s five runs. Josh Gibson and Joe Guithes also collected RBIs. The addition of a fifth run in fifth proved the game-winner. Alton drew to within one run in the sixth, but Arnold, who stepped onto the hill in relief, shut down the Redbird rally for a 5-4 O’Fallon victory.

OTHS 12 Collinsville 2

The Panthers left nothing to chance last Thursday in the second SWC showdown in as many days, pounding our 12 hits in just five innings to dismantle the Collinsville Kahoks 12-2.

Arnold, Gibson and Jordan Richardson fueled O’Fallon’s offensive explosion. Arnold went 2-for-2 at the dish, including a round-tripper. Richardson banged out two hits in two plate appearances, and Gibson went 2-for-3, driving in two more runs. Logan Boente went the distance for the Panthers, scattering five hits and holding the Kahoks to two runs. The second Collinsville run pulled the visitors to within one, 3-2, in the top of the fourth. However, the OTHS squad responded decisively to the challenge, erupting for nine in the bottom of the fourth.

O’Fallon Tournament

After taking care of business in their first two league contests of the season, the Panthers hosted a round robin tourney at Blazier Field over the past weekend and continued their winning streak.

Harlem High School from the Chicago suburb of Machesney Park was the Panthers’ next victim. OTHS jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first with some help from the Harlem starting pitcher, who issued three consecutive walks and then nailed designated hitter Joe Guithes with a pitch that sent the first Panthers run across the plate.

O’Fallon produced their own runs after that, scoring two in the second on singles by Juenger and Nathan Martin. A four-run fourth sealed the deal for the Panthers. A shot down the third base line by Juenger was the key hit in the rally that put the game safely in the O’Fallon win column. Justin Dye earned the win for OTHS, pitching two and two-thirds innings and allowing just one run.

The Panthers employed the same recipe for success in their second weekend victory — this time over Chaminade of St. Louis — building an early lead and relying on a stellar pitching performance by Arnold, who limited Chaminade to just one run on three hits. After a scoreless first inning, Chase Hackstadt got things rolling offensively for the Panthers with a lead-off single up the middle. Matthew Albritton sent Hackstadt home with a double into the right field corner.

The Panthers doubled their lead in the third. Gibson reached base to open the frame on an error by the Chaminade shortstop. Gibson advanced to third on a single and scored O’Fallon’s second run on a ground out.

Singles by Albritton and Juenger were instrumental in the Panthers increasing their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Juenger and Albritton were a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. Their base hits in the fourth pushed across O’Fallon’s final tallies in the 4-1 victory.

Up Next

This week, the OTHS squad is scheduled for a full slate of diamond action, including SWC match-ups versus East St. Louis and Belleville East. This weekend, the Panthers face Civic Memorial on Friday. Saturday Portz and his charges make their annual visit to Busch Stadium to take on Hillsboro (Missouri) High School after the Cardinals’ scheduled 1:15 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Reds.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Baseball Panthers have shot out to an 11-1 start."