Knoxville 10 Norwalk 1

Wednesday June 16, 2010

by Don French

Any doubts that the Knoxville Panthers would be key players in the Little Hawkeye Conference title hunt were shot down emphatically in Norwalk Wednesday evening. The tenth-ranked Panthers unleashed a 20-hit attack and routed the third-ranked Norwalk Warriors 10-1. The defeat was Norwalk's first conference loss of the season.

Knoxville wasted no time jumping on top, using back-to-back doubles by Eric Jones and Blake McWilliams to take a 1-0 lead. Kellen Glover increased the lead to 3-0 in the second with a towering two-run bomb over the right-field wall, his second of the year.

The Panthers batted around in the fourth to score five more and blow the game open. Mike Jacks drove in two runs, lacing a double to left. Justin Katich, Jones and Lance Daugherty added RBI's in a frame that saw seven Panther hits.

Meanwhile, Jones was in firm control on the mound, retiring 12 of the first 14 Warrior batters he faced. The junior then escaped a bases-loaded, no out jam in the fifth without allowing a run, coaxing a pop-up and striking out two. Jones finished with a complete-game six-hitter, striking out nine without walking a batter.

Katich, Jones, Daugherty and Adam Thiel each had three hits for Knoxville, and McWilliams, Glover and Jamie VanderVeer each added two. All nine Panther starters had at least one hit for the night.

Knoxville improved to 5-2 in conference play and 11-4 overall with the victory. The Panthers cross the lake Friday for a varsity twin-bill with the Little Dutch in Pella.