By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
SPRING GARDEN – It’s taken a little while for the Spring Garden Panthers to find their identity this baseball season under first-year head coach Kyle Garmon, but they now appear to be turning a corner.
After losing their first five games on the diamond this season, the Panthers have now won eight of their last nine. They rallied Thursday from a three-run deficit with four runs in the ninth to take a 9-8 win over Pleasant Valley, then on Friday, they spotted rival Cedar Bluff a five-run cushion and rallied again.
Spring Garden scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and four more in the bottom of the sixth to take a 10-5 victory.
“These kids are never down. They just don’t have quit in them. They’re winners,” Garmon said. “They lost one football game. They lost one basketball game. They just play.
“This is a very not-like-me bunch to coach. I’m a lot more disciplined than this bunch is, but I figured out pretty quickly you’ve got to coach what you’re dealt with. This bunch has to stay loose. They have to be having a good time. You’ve just got to let them play. You’ve got to get out of their way and let them play.”
But before the Panthers began to play like they know how, Cedar Bluff took it to them early.
The Tigers manufactured a run in the top of the second, then batted around in the top of the fourth and scored four runs to take a 5-0 advantage. The big hit in the fourth for the Tigers came from leadoff batter and starting pitcher Caleb Edmondson, who delivered a two-run double to left.
Spring Garden answered with a six-run rally in the bottom half of the inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and chasing Edmondson from the game. Panther starting pitcher Clayton Sadler belted a two-run single to right center to provide the big spark that helped give the Panthers a 6-4 lead.
That would be all the run support Panther reliever Connor Bates needed. He came in for Grey Simpson in the top of the top of the fifth. The Tigers managed to load the bases on Bates with one out in the sixth, but he dug in to retire the side.
The Panther offense scored him four more runs in the bottom half of the inning for good measure for the final.
“That’s kind of been our thing the past couple of weeks. We’ve had an inning or two that hasn’t gone our way,” Cedar Bluff coach Colby Coursey said. “The parable I gave to them was the house is on fire, but nobody is running to grab the water. We’ve got to find a way to shut those innings down and get in the dugout a little quicker.
“Spring Garden’s a good team. That’s why we play them on our schedule. They’re senior heavy. Their lineup is solid. They’ve got guys who can throw a lot of strikes. They do a good job of keeping you off-balance. You can’t just go up there and sit on one pitch.”
Garmon said Friday’s win over the Tigers was big for the Panthers. He stopped short of saying Spring Garden is peaking right now, but he does feel they’re heading in the right direction.
“I think we’re starting to figure out who we are,” Garmon said. “I don’t know if you can peak until you figure out who you are, but maybe we can peak around the playoffs.”
Noah Barber came off the bench and had a pair of doubles with a run for the Panthers. Hayes Garmon also had two hits, including a double, with a walk and a RBI. Simpson was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run and two RBIs. Bates was 2-for-3 with two runs and a RBI.
Joel Hunter, Zane Edwards and Sadler each delivered a hit and a run. Edwards also had a RBI and Sadler drove in two runs. Hunter Parris walked and scored a run. Carson Bostick drove in a run. John Welsh and Kaden Wood both scored a run.
Hunter Stallings led the Tigers at the plate by going 3-for-3. Edmondson went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and two RBIs.
Kuper Bradley had a hit, a walk and two runs. Isaac Bishop delivered a hit, two walks and a run. Jacob Chambers contributed a hit and a walk.
Samson Mallett managed a walk and a run. Bubba Chadwick drove in a run and Kolwyn Morrison scored a run.
Both teams jump back into area play on Tuesday. Cedar Bluff is at Pleasant Valley. Spring Garden is at Faith Christian. Both series openers begin at 4:30 p.m.
