Yazoo County’s baseball team began their season with an 0-2 record after dropping games to Germantown and Raymond.
The first game against Germantown was one of the most difficult contests that the Panthers will face all year.
And at times, it showed.
The Mavericks held the Panthers to just three hits and took the game 10-0.
According to Yazoo County head baseball coach Corbin Ellis, the games against higher levels of competition should benefit his team late in the year.
“Went against one of the best teams in 5A to open the season and in my opinion, we held our own,” Ellis said. “We were not intimidated by them and played good ball, but the reality is we were just outmanned. We did not make any errors and made every defensive play we had an opportunity to make. You play up in classification to get better. We need to see the best pitching we can to help prepare us for playoffs. Tanner Evilsizor took the loss but pitched well.”
Ben Luckett went 1-for-2 with a double in the loss.
Peyton Thrasher went 1-for-1 with a single.
Trevor Leal went 1-for-2 with a single.
Tanner Evilsizor had the difficult job of trying to shut down the explosive Germantown offense.
The Panthers faced off with the Raymond Rangers later in the day.
It was a sloppy game, filled with both walks and hit batters.
Ellis feels that his team must be better at limiting their mistakes.
“The story of the Raymond game was the walks and hit batters,” Ellis said. “We put 15 on base either by walks or hit batters. Five of them were the leadoff men and all five scored. Those leadoff walks really hurt you. Our pitchers must do a better job of pitching in the zone. It was a narrow plate this weekend, and we teach our pitchers to work the corners, but when you don't get those calls, you have to throw strikes and let your defense play behind you.”
The Rangers went up 1-0 in the first, and they added to that lead with two runs in the second inning to make it a 3-0 game.
Yazoo County jumped on the board with a run in the top of the third to cut the Rangers’ lead to 3-1.
Ellis’ squad caught fire in the top of the fourth inning and scored three runs to take a 4-3 lead, their first of the game.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Rangers responded by scoring a run to tie it up at 4-4.
Raymond regained their lead in the fifth inning after scoring two runs to make it a 6-4 game.
The Rangers put the final touch on their win with a run in the bottom of the sixth, making the final score 7-4.
Despite more than doubling the hit total for the Rangers, it wasn’t enough to overcome their errors.
Ellis believes the self-inflicted wounds were the difference.
“We out hit Raymond 11-5 but made a couple of baserunning mistakes that I need to coach better so they do not happen again,” Ellis said. “After falling behind 3-0, we came back and took a 4-3 lead late in the game, but once again, the walks and hit batters really hurt us.”
Cameron Shaffer 2-for-3 with two singles and an RBI.
Andrew Edwards 3-for-3 with two singles, a double, and an RBI.
David Michael Jones 1-for-3 with a single.
Peyton Thrasher 1-for-3 with a single and an RBI.
Ethan Hill 1-or-2 with a single and an RBI.
