It was a hard-fought battle between two of the top dogs in Class 5A, but unfortunately, it was UMS-Wright who took the series; 2-1.
In Game 1, the Bulldogs pulled away in a low-scoring nailbiter 1-0 to open the series. The Panthers struggled to get people on base, finishing with two hits both belonging to Gage Davis. The Bulldogs pitching did not give them any favors either, Andy Purvis racked up 10 Ks while walking only three batters through seven innings of play.
UMS-Wright did get the better end of things in the hitting department with nine hits on the day, but defensively Elmore County made it difficult to get anything more than the one run it acquired.
However, in Game 2 it was almost the complete opposite. This time it was the Panthers dominating at the plate en route to a 10-5 victory to even the series out. They cataloged 11 hits, with Davis continuing his success with three hits, one run and three RBIs — one of those hits going for a home run. Shae Darnell joined in on the fun as well with three hits of his own for a triple and two singles. He’d also add two runs and two RBIs on the board.
It all came down to the final game of the series, where it was the Bulldogs coming out on top 3-2.
Elmore County found itself in the lead early with a two-run outing in the top of the second inning. However, that’s just about where its luck ran out. UMS-Wright got on the board with two runs of its own in the bottom of the fourth frame where it ended up being enough for the win.
The Panthers racked up five hits in the final game; Darnell picked up two more hits in Game 3. Shelton Darnell, Dallin Simpson and Evan Spence rounded off the hitting numbers with one each.
Although the season ended sooner than the Panthers would have liked, they finished the season at 25-11 and a perfect 4-0 in Class 5A Area 6. They’ll lose some notable seniors from this year's squad, but the future is bright with the underclassmen who made way this year.
