O’Fallon baseball goes 3-1 in Georgia

Baseball

O’Fallon 3 Punxsutawney (PA) 2

The Panthers opened diamond action in the Louisville Slugger Select tournament held in Emerson, Ga., with a scintillating win over Punxsutawney (PA) High School. Bradley Snyder went 2-2, doubling in the first and singling in the fifth. The Panthers pounced on the Puxstawney starter for two runs in the third. Jared Dalonzo started the frame with a solid single. Dillon Weiss advanced Dalonza with a single. The OTHS sophomore scampered home on a fielder’s choice. The 2-0 advantage held up until the fifth when the Pennsylvania squad touched starter Brad Harrison for two runs. In the bottom of the same frame, the Panthers responded with one run, driven in by Joe Guithues’ basehit. Harrison regained his control, blanking Punxsutawney over the final two innings to preserve the 3-2 victory.

O’Fallon 6 Arvada (CO) 4

Two runs in the Panthers’ final at-bat produced a come-from-behind victory over Ralston Valley High School of Arvada, Co., in the Panthers’ second tourney test. Senior Camden Bauer provided the late-inning heroics, doubling home the go-ahead runs. Logan Boente earned the win in relief.

South Dade Co. (FL) 13 O’Fallon 6

Dade County roared to a 4-0 first inning lead in the tournament’s second game, and the Panthers battled the rest of the afternoon trying to scramble back into contention. They nearly pulled it off, narrowing the gap to just 8-6 after plating two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI triple off the bat of Josh Gibson. Senior Dillon Weiss was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, singling in the first, fourth, sixth and seventh innings. The initial 4-0 Dade County advantage was erased in the fourth on a two-run single by Bradley Snyder, chasing home Brad Harrison and Jared Dalonzo. Jake Maxey was charged with the loss – the Panthers’ first after reeling off five consecutive wins to start the season.

O’Fallon 13 Athens (AL) 0

The Panthers got back on the beam in a big way in the tournament finale against Athens, Alabama. O’Fallon pounded out 12 hits in just five innings to secure the win. While the OTHS squad was circling the bases at will, senior Camden Bauer was putting the clamps on the Alabama team. Bauer did not allow a hit over his five innings of work. An RBI single by Brad Harrison, a two-run basehit by Joe Guithues, a two-run double by Bauer, an RBI triple by Jordan Richardson and another RBI basehit by Chase Hackstadt produced a 7-run third inning, cementing the Panthers’ successful southern road trip.

O’Fallon 5 Alton 0

Back in the familiar territory of the Southwestern Conference, O’Fallon collected their first league victory of the 2016 campaign. Bradley Harrison tossed a complete game 1-hit shutout. The OTHS right-hander struck out 11 Redbird batters. The Panthers pushed across their first run in the third thanks to a fielding error and put the game away in the fourth, scoring four runs, ignited by Bradley Snyder’s RBI single, driving home Jared Dalonzo.

Collinsville 4 O’Fallon 2

The Collinsville Kahoks limped into Blazier Field last Thursday with a 3-5 record but exited about three hours later with a spring in their step after knocking off the Panthers 4-2. The loss was only the second in ten games for O’Fallon – not an easy one to swallow. Kahok senior pitcher Matthew Cook shut down the O’Fallon offense, limiting the Panthers to only three hits while striking out nine. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first, but the visiting Kahoks tied the game in the second on a wild pitch. Hayden Juenger spanked a 2-run single off O’Fallon starter Max Schaefer in the fourth – enough runs for Cook to nail down the victory.

Naperville Central 4 O’Fallon 1

A single run in the bottom of the third inning was not enough for the Panthers to defeat Naperville Central. Despite a strong pitching effort by Logan Boente, the visitors pushed across two runs in the fourth, the go-ahead coming on a sacrifice fly. A RBI double and another sacrifice fly added two more runs to the Naperville Central lead in their final at bat.

O’Fallon 6 Chaminade 4

The Panthers halted their modest two-game tailspin with a 6-4 victory. Chaminade scored the first run of the game in the second with an RBI single by JP Winkler. A home run in the third frame extended Chaminade’s lead to 3-0 before the OTHS offense finally began to warm to the occasion. Singles by Jared Dalonzo and Bradley Harrison ignited O’Fallon’s comeback in the bottom of the third. Chaminade aided the OTHS cause booting a groundball and their pitcher throwing a wild pitch, cutting Chaminade’s lead to 3-2. Harrison was in the middle of the action in the sixth inning, powering a home run to help O’Fallon break a 4-4 deadlock and eventually secure the win.

Softball:

Alton 4 O’Fallon 2

The Lady Panthers’ string of five consecutive victories to start the spring season came to an end in their first Southwestern Conference game. Alton touched OTHS starter Addison Barnouski for a run in the bottom of the first. Caroline Keller’s RBI double knotted the score in the top of the third, but Alton regained the lead with a single tally in the bottom of the inning. The Redbirds scored two insurance runs in the fifth. Cassie Brown was the hitting leader for the Lady Panthers, spanking two hits in three plate appearances and scoring one of the two OTHS runs.

Collinsville 3 O’Fallon 2

The O’Fallon girls dropped their second straight SWC contest, falling to Collinsville in extra innings. Despite pounding out 10 hits against the Kahok pitcher, Coach Kelly Paproth’s crew could not get the big hit at the right moment, forcing the game into an eighth inning. Addison Barnouski was staked to a 1-0 lead in the first inning and was able to hold Collinsville in check until the fourth stanza. O’Fallon responded immediately with a single run crossing the plate in the top of the fifth. The Kahoks knotted the score in the bottom of the sixth, and after a scoreless seventh inning, the game was extended into extra frames. After the Lady Panthers were held in check in the top of the eighth, the Kahoks solved Barnouski for the game-winner in the bottom of the frame. The O’Fallon right-hander was the tough luck loser, striking out nine Collinsville batters. Collinsville hurler Addison Wickiser kept the Panthers off balance just enough at the plate, fanning 11 O’Fallon batters, usually in critical situations when the OTHS squad appeared poised to take control of the game.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 8:50 AM with the headline "O’Fallon baseball goes 3-1 in Georgia."