The Panthers’ softball team took on consortium rival Blake in a challenging game last Wednesday that resulted in an unfortunate loss.

The Panthers started off strong in the field and sent the Bengals back to the bench three -up-three-down in the top of the first.  Unfortunately for the Panthers, they didn’t have the same luck in the second inning as, with the bases loaded, sophomore pitcher Kelly Krizmanich walked the next runner to put Blake up 1-0.  They added a second run in the inning on a PB error to go up 2-0.

In the bottom of the inning, the Panthers got on the board after freshman Mira Towriss hit a solid fly ball to left-center field to bring home fellow freshman Carly Wirth for the Panthers’ first run.

Although Krizmanich was throwing serious heat during the third inning, the Panthers’ defense could not stop the Bengals’ on a four-run rally.  Several costly errors resulted in Blake taking a commanding 6-1 lead.  The Bengals added another run in the fourth to go up 7-1.

Just when things looked bleakest for the Panthers, junior Loren Corkran started off the bottom of the fifth inning with a double. Senior Jessie Titherington followed with an RBI ground out to plate Corkran and cut the Bengal lead to 7-2.  After Titherington, Alison Krizmanich walked, and then Purnell singled.   Then Wirth did it again, hitting a sac-fly to mid-rightfield to bring home Purnell with PB’s third run.  The Panthers were on a roll and managed to bring home one more run to cut the deficit to 7-4.

Hopes continued to rise in the bottom of the sixth inning as Purnell knocked in another run to cut the Blake lead to only 2 at 7-5. Unfortunately, the Bengals were able to add a run to their total in the top of the final inning as a triple by Blake turned into a run as the Panthers made an error on the play.  Krizmanich and the Panthers stood strong, though, as she made the most of her last inning, and the team rallied with solid defense.  Krizmanich caught a line drive to third for the second out of the inning and, following a Titherington putout from shortstop, the Panthers ran into the dugout, looking for a late-game rally.

In the Panthers’ last atbats, Wirth and Ford made solid contact, and Blake’s defense turned their contact into simple outs. Towriss walked to give the Panthers life, but the Bengals secured the last out on a foul pop to secure the win.

The girls’ varsity softball team will play the Sherwood Warriors at Sherwood on Wednesday, April 9th at 3:30.