Panthers Take Game One With 8-0 Win Over Cannons

The second round of the HSBN Fall Classic is a test of stamina for the teams that have made it this far, and the intensity is always increased at this point in the tournament. That was the case Wednesday evening when the Cannons faced off with the Panthers Baseball Club in Game One of their best-of-three series.

The Cannons sent Tommy Dorfman to the mound, and the Panthers countered with Chris Koppenhaver. It was the Panthers who took the upper hand in the series with an impressive 8-0 victory.

Koppenhaver had a mixed bag of results Wednesday evening. He threw five innings of shutout ball, striking out four while giving up three runs. The Cannons had a patient approach at the plate, working six walks, but were unable to capitalize on any of them.

“The first couple of innings, I wasn’t throwing as hard,” Koppenhaver said. “I was just trying to hit spots and get outs, save my stamina for later in the game. As the game went on, I was throwing a little harder, and lost control a bit. Luckily, my defense played great behind me and helped me out of a few jams. It was a great team win.”

The Panthers struck first in the third inning. After two shutout innings from Dorfman, Griffin Conine led off the inning with a walk. After a fielder’s choice, lead-off hitter Adam Saks walked, and Zack Kone delivered a run-scoring single. Chandler Cissel followed with an RBI single, making the score 2-0.

In their half of the third, the Cannons mounted their first real threat off Koppenhaver. The Panthers righty walked the first two batters of the inning, Andrew Gross and Jeremy Viveros. After a strikeout, Weston Clemente was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Koppenhaver then got Josh Viveros to ground out to second and a strikeout to end the inning.

The Cannons threatened again in the fourth. Sam Etter led off the inning with a double into the left-center field gap. A sacrifice bunt by Nick Gauntner moved Etter to third. Pinch-hitter Zack Warienus walked, and when Gross lined a ball to right, it appeared that the Cannons would get on the board, but right-fielder Tom Walker had other ideas, throwing Etter out at the plate and completing the double play.

The Panthers broke the game open in the top of the seventh, scoring five runs. Saks, Kone and Matt Rothenberg keyed the inning with big base hits.

“Our offense started a little slow, and their guy was throwing a lot of off-speed pitches, which really kept us off balance,” Panthers manager Glen Pierson said. “I was happy with the way we scratched out a few runs, and our defense was outstanding. Chris on the mound has progressed all fall to where he was today. We still have a lot to clean up, but I’m happy with the direction we are going.”

Where they could be going if they win Game Two of the series Thursday evening is a trip to the semifinals of the Fall Classic next Monday. The Cannons will have to rebound from their first loss of the tournament and win Thursday to force a Game Three on Friday.

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