Panthers Rally From Four Down To Stun B-Cats And Move Into Semifinals

The Pembroke Pines Panthers are having themselves quite a fall.

For six innings, the story practically wrote itself Friday night for the B-Cats. With strong pitching throughout the game and a comfortable 8-4 lead, the B-Cats were three outs away from reaching the semifinals of the HSBN Fall Classic for the second consecutive season.

Then, the Panthers changed the narrative. A team that has used the Fall Classic to announce their presence as an elite team did so in grand style on this night, scoring five runs in the seventh, the last three of which came with two outs, to stun the B-Cats 9-8.

The Panthers advance to Monday’s semifinals where they’ll face the Raiders, who move on after beating the Falcons 4-1.

“I can’t even speak,” said Panthers manager Onel Garcia, shortly after his team mobbed Israel Santana at home plate. “These guys just never quit. They battled and battled, and then something special just happened in that last inning. I’m just so proud of the way they fought and clawed today.”

For six innings, it appeared as though the B-Cats were on their way to the championship round. Danny Pardo was key to building the 8-4 lead, hitting a two-run homer in the second, while reaching base four times and scoring three runs on the day.

B-Cats starter Michael Schappell threw four strong innings, allowing only five hits. He turned the ball over to Devin Hadley in the fifth with a 7-4 lead. When the B-Cats tacked on a run in the seventh, the lead was increased to 8-4, and that is when the craziness began.

Trevor Takacs, the Panthers’ leadoff hitter and starting pitcher, popped out to third to start the bottom of the seventh. Yoni Rodriguez, the eventual winning pitcher, singled, and Luis Mercado followed with a double over the third-base bag. Mike Van Degna was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases.

Chris Medina flew out to right, and the Panthers were down to their last out. Brandon Acevedo hit an RBI single, cutting the lead to 8-5. Israel Santana then singled to left center, plating two more. The rally appeared to be over when Santana took off for second, not realizing that Acevedo had stopped at second. Confusion in the B-Cats infield allowed Acevedo to advance to third, and Santana ended up on second.

Etienne Latour, the winning pitcher in Game Two, came up with the game on the line, and Hadley quickly worked Latour to an 0-2 count. After fouling off a couple of pitches, Latour lined a single to center, and when Santana came in from second with the winning run, a raucous celebration commenced.

“I just can’t even believe what just happened. I’m speechless,” said Latour. “We fought so hard, and I was nervous going to the plate, but I knew I couldn’t fail and let my teammates down. I was looking for a fastball, and I was able to get one I could handle. It’s just an unbelievable feeling that words can’t describe.”

Acevedo, the Panthers ace and likely starter in Monday’s semifinal game, agreed.

“I don’t know how to describe this,” said Acevedo, when asked about the feeling of such an emotional comeback. “We’ve been waiting to get to this level for a long time. We’ve worked hard, and we have a tremendous group of guys. We knew we could compete, and now everyone knows we can win these big games. It’s a great feeling.”

Garcia had spoken after Thursday’s Game Two win about how the Panthers had been building, and how they wanted to not only compete in these big games, but they wanted to show they could win them.

“It’s something we’ve talked about. That’s a great baseball team over there that we’ve faced this week. They are one of the more-respected programs, and to beat them two out of three and show we belong, that’s big for us.”

For the B-Cats, their fall ends earlier than anticipated, but the Fall Classic tournament still accomplished the goal of manager Sergio Ambros.

“We play in this tournament for the exact reason of games like today,” said Ambros. “This tourney gets young guys experience playing in high-pressure situations, with the music blaring, under the lights, and in front of a big crowd. The experience of this type of situation is priceless in the fall, and even though we lost, this will make us a better team in the long run.”

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