Knoxville 3  Des Moines Christian 4

Friday June 13, 2008

by Don French

The Panthers dug themselves a hole Friday night against Des Moines Christian, and just couldn't quite climb out of it in a 4-3 non-conference defeat at the hands of the Lions. Knoxville dropped to a record of six wins and twelve losses for the season.

Four Panther errors in the first two innings helped DMC take a 3-0 lead. After a Ben Myers RBI base hit in the second, the Lions took advantage of yet another Panther miscue to take a 4-1 lead.

Knoxville's defense stiffened after that, shutting out DMC the rest of the way, but the Lions had all the runs they would need. The Panthers managed two runs in the fifth when Josh Russell led off with a double and scored on Jesse Swanson's single. Chad Ball then snaked a base hit through the middle to score courtesy runner Tyler Worrall.

But missed scoring opportunities would once again hurt Knoxville. The Panthers left two runners on base in that fifth inning, as well as loading the bases in the third without scoring a run. KHS stranded ten baserunners for the evening.

Kirk Keffer was the losing pitcher for Knoxville. Aaron Todd came on in relief and pitched 4.2 innings, scattering nine hits but allowing only one run.

The Panthers return to conference action Monday when they host Norwalk in a JV/Varsity game.