Panthers vs. Onyx
April 9, 1997

W 18-9

Wow!! I think someone oiled up the Panther hitting machine tonight! It sure was nice to play again after 2 weeks...and it was great to watch the girls play so well.

In our second game of the season, the Panthers were on the prowl. Olivia started us off with a sharp infield hit. Then Maudie smacked the next pitch for a hit and then Marissa got a hit. That brought up our cleanup hitter Melanie. What did Mel do? She only whacked the ball for a hit and got the scoring started. Lisa and Kelly also drove the ball for RBIs. Finally, Justina drove in the 5th run with a hit up the first base line. And before you even knew it, the Panthers were ahead 5-0.

Then our defense took over. We held the Onyx team scoreless, so we stayed ahead 5-0 after one inning. We knew Onyx was going to be tough so it was great to have a lead.

The second inning showed that the Panthers don't give up! Ellen Ann led us off with a nice hit. Then we got 2 outs, so we needed some clutch hitting. What happened? The top of the lineup came through! Olivia, Maudie, Marissa, Melanie, and Lisa got hits with 2 outs and we scored 4 runs! In the bottom of the inning, Onyx scored 5 runs with some good hitting. I sure was proud of how our girls were paying attention and getting the ball into the pitcher. I remember Kristen snagging a ball in left field and firing it back to Rene, who did a great job getting the ball into the circle. That good defensive play kept the hitter from running all the way to second base.

In the third inning, Kelly led us off with a double. She ended up scoring our only run of the inning. In the bottom of the third, Kelly also made our defensive play of the game, a sweet scoop of a ball fired from Marissa at pitcher. We held Onyx to 1 run, so we led 10-6 after 3 innings.

The game was getting tight! So what did we do in the 4th inning? We had the top of the lineup back up. Olivia got her 3rd hit of the night (she ended up going 4 for 4!), Maudie got another hit (she also went 4 for 4), Melanie got another hit (she went 4 for 4!), Lisa got a hit, Kelly got a hit...5 runs crossed real quick, and the Panthers were now leading 15-6. Onyx scored 3 in the bottom of the 4th to make it 15-9.

In the fifth inning, we scored 3 more runs. The highlight was Melanie's triple!! Melanie's strong hitting made her our Panther of the Day! Then it was time to play defense! Brittany saw her first action of the season at pitcher. After a couple batters, time had expired. The Panthers won 18-9 in their first win of the year.

Coach Larry really pitched well and both Coach Jims (Kristen's dad and Rene's dad) did a good job coaching at first base and third base. Even Coach Rodney pitched a little and didn't strike out everyone like he did in the first game. Coach Rodney said this his pitching improved because he grew a new beard! Parents were real good at cheering and that sure helped everyone get excited!

I think everyone went home real happy, especially Lisa who was celebrating her 8th birthday and had wanted the Panthers to win.

-- Velvet