Starfires top Panthers

ROCKFORD - The first three Parkway batters reached base safely in the seventh with the Panthers facing a three-run deficit against South Adams.

What came next was a summation of Parkway's night.

Relief pitcher Grant Besser took the bump and struck out the next three Panthers to secure an 8-5 Starfire victory in Rockford.

The Panthers led 2-0 after four innings but stranded 15 runners in the loss. They put their leadoff hitter on four times and left the bases juiced twice.

"We had opportunities make plays and get us off the field," Parkway coach Luke Clouse said. "We had opportunities to score some runs. They just punished us for some of the things we weren't able to get."

The Panthers got on the scoreboard once in the first and then again in the third. Jack Wehe, who reached on a fielder's choice after a single by Corey Walls, scored the game's first run on a wild pitch. In the third, Nick Hawk launched a leadoff double to deep right. He moved to third on Nick Riley's sacrifice fly and scored on a passed ball.

Noah Stephenson held South Adams scoreless over the first four innings while compiling four strikeouts and allowing three hits. Stephenson, however, encountered trouble as his pitch count rose in the fifth. He walked a run across and was pulled after having thrown his 92nd pitch.

Reliever Mason Baxter stepped on the rubber and forced what looked to be an inning-ending popup, but the ball was misplayed and two runs scored. A single by Terry Dawn made it a 4-2 game.

"I thought Noah Stephenson pitched a great game for us," Clouse said. "He threw four scoreless innings. He gave up a couple there in the fifth, and we just didn't get a play made."

Parkway reclaimed the lead in the home fifth. Breyden Bruns drew a walk and Baxter and Coleton Kraner followed with singles to load the bases for Noah Riley, who delivered an RBI sacrifice fly. An infield error allowed Baxter to score and tie the game at 4-apiece. Parkway left the go-ahead runners stranded in scoring position.

Isaiah Baumgartner returned the lead to South Adams for good in the sixth with a two-out, two-run single. The Panthers had a two-run error on the next play.

Hawk, Nick Riley and Bruns all had hits off Austin Davidson to start the seventh. But Besser - a hard-throwing left-hander - threw nine strikes in 12 pitches to ring up the remaining three batters.

"We had the bases juiced and didn't get them in the end, when we had the heart of the lineup coming up," Clouse said. "It's disappointing, but the kids played a really clean game. We did hit the ball hard in some situations. … It just sucks. Losing games like this is tough because you feel like you let one get away."

Hawk finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and scored two runs. Noah Riley and Kraner also added two hits for Parkway, which hosts Delphos St. John's today.