Panther baseball earns 1st region win

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Journal Sports Writer
mbrown@sunmulti.com
With six shutout innings from John Hartzog, Perry High’s baseball Panthers began Region 2-AAAA competition in 2013 10-0 winners Tuesday against Westside High’s Seminoles at the Panther Pit.
“We’ve played a pretty tough schedule, some good teams,” said head coach Shawn Masters about the first month of Perry that included only three other victories, two against Peach County. “We had some good games with some of those teams. We had a one-run loss to Warner Robins and a three-run loss to (First Presbyterian Day), which is senior heavy.
“We’re young in some spots, but we’re getting better as we go. I’m pretty pleased with where we are. It’s always nice to get that first region win.”
Hartzog issued five walks and surrendered two hits to Westside. Most of these baserunners, however, were victims of outs on the basepaths. Hartzog struck out six, half of the total coming in the fifth inning.
Aside from Hartzog, Masters is leaning on two pitchers with mound experience: Seth Moss and Myles Sowell. Hartzog is actually one of three juniors Masters has high hopes of developing, the others being Hunter Knowles and Dylan Griger.
“We feel we have kids who can get in there and throw some strikes,” said Masters.
The Panther lineup is top heavy with familiar names in terms of role players and up-and-comers from previous seasons. Dillon Hendrix and Deonte Solomon bring the most position experience while Jake Farrell and J.W. Gentry emerged midway through last season to earn significant playing time.
“It’s a very young crowd,” said Masters, who had a freshman, Drew Martens, in the clean-up spot Tuesday. “There’s some seniors scattered in there with some sophomores. We’re young at the top, and got some young ones at the bottom. We’re trying to find a formula that works.”
Perry may have found a good formula in what isn’t necessarily small ball, but hitting the baseball where the fielders aren’t. That’s how the Panthers put four runs on the board in the bottom of the second against Westside.
“We try to preach the big inning,” said Masters. “Score three or more in an inning. Luke (Parks) led off the (second) with the drag bunt and got on first. We were able to get something going there, get four across, which was really huge for us.”
In the first inning, it was Perry taking a 1-0 lead when Hendrix walked with two outs and scored as Martens doubled to the left-center gap.
Parks’ bunt hit to start the second was on the first pitch he saw, and he actually took second base on an ensuing throwing error. Sowell followed with a little flare single to shallow center, and the Panthers operated with runners on the corner bags.
In the No. 9 spot, Matt Davis grounded a ‘seeing-eye’ single between the shortstop and third baseman (2-0). Farrell was next and advanced Perry’s two runners to scoring position on a sacrifice. Gentry looked as if he had a simple RBI ground-out, but it became two runs for the Panthers on a second Westside error.
Before Perry was finished, Hendrix singled to shallow left making it a 5-0 game.
Solomon led off the Panther third on a walk and scored the sixth run via an error. The Seminoles would then end both the third and fourth on double plays.
Solomon, Perry’s football quarterback, had a second leadoff chance in the fifth and singled to left. Davis drove him home on a fielder’s choice play (though no out was recorded), and on a two-out hit-and-run single, Gentry put the home team up 8-0.
In the sixth, Solomon and Parks each had hits to set up game-ending RBI for Sowell and Davis.
As for the defensive efforts, Gentry, the catcher, ended Westside’s second with a caught-stealing throw to Moss at third base. The Seminoles put runners on the corners with two down in the fourth and tried a double steal. The Gentry-Moss tandem executed the rundown for out No. 3.
In the top of the sixth, it was Moss getting a straight assist to the plate when Westside had two in scoring position.
“Veterans and West Laurens are going to be really good … battling for the first two spots,” said Masters about contending in 2-AAAA. “It think it’s going to be Howard, Mary Persons and Perry battling for the last two spots. We’re just trying to get better every day, so we’ll see what happens.
“This is a good group. I rarely have to get on them about anything. When they come to work, they’re working. All I can ask is they do the best they can.”
What may increase Perry’s chances is the expected early April return of Nick Martens, who is still recovering from a football-season injury. Masters said that will help in almost every department, particularly with the bat and in pitching.

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Panther baseball earns 1st region win

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