Knoxville 4  Pella Christian 2

Monday June 30, 2008

by Don French

Aaron Todd threw probably the finest pitching performance of his high school career Monday night in his final start on his home field. The senior right-hander limited Pella Christian to four hits, allowed no walks and struck out 12 Eagles, leading his Panthers to a 4-2 win in Monday night's reguarly scheduled game between the two teams.

After retiring the first nine batters he faced, Todd hit a rough stretch in the fourth inning. The first three hitters of the frame got hits, including two doubles, to account for both Eagle runs in the contest. But the senior then settled down, allowing only one more hit and also benefitting from an errorless effort by the Knoxville defense.

Meanwhile, the Panthers were taking advantage of a leaky PC defense in the early going. The Eagles committed five errors in the first three innings, allowing Knoxville to score their four runs during that span. Mike Jacks and Ben Myers each had RBI singles, and Danny Lee personally manufactured a run. The Panther centerfielder stole second base and scored when the catcher's throw to second evaded both the second baseman and the centerfielder for PC.

Josh Russell led Knoxville with two hits in a pitcher-dominated game which saw the Panthers themselves manage only six hits for the contest.

The win was the 12th of the year for KHS against 15 defeats, and boosted the Panthers to 10-7 in Little Hawkeye Conference play.

Tuesday evening will be Senior Night at the Knoxville field as the Panthers square off against Newton in a varsity twinbill. Come support your Panthers against the Cardinals and thank our seniors for their committment to Knoxville Baseball.