by Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor
    Regional -- Monticello did well for a baseball team that had to play eight games in four days last week, winning five of them and racking up double-digit runs in four of those triumphs.

    But the week also had its share of heartbreak. Following the encouraging split with second-ranked Cascade the previous week, the Panthers put themselves in a position to at least share the Tri-Rivers Conference championship if they could “win out” the rest of the TRC schedule.

    Those hopes came to an abrupt end Monday, June 23 in a home doubleheader against North-Linn. The Lynx swept the Panthers 5-3, 3-1, knocking them two games behind Cascade in the conference race, and all but assuring that Cascade would claim the title.

    “My worst fears came true,” Monticello coach Mark Spensley said, “that we’d have a little letdown after Cascade. That was part of the problem that night.

    “We couldn’t get the big hits like we’ve been getting.”

    The rest of the week went better: a non-conference split with North Cedar June 24, a 20-8, 11-6 sweep of East Buchanan in a makeup doubleheader June 25, and a sweep of Central City, 20-8 and 10-5, June 26. All but the Central City games were at home for the Panthers (11-3, 21-5).

    Monticello and North-Linn played to a 3-3 tie in the first game of the June 23 doubleheader, but the Lynx pulled ahead with two runs in the top of the sixth, on an error, a walk and two singles. The Panthers got runners on second and third with two out in the bottom of the sixth, but couldn’t score.

    North-Linn scored single runs in the first, second and sixth innings of the second game. Monticello got a run in the third, but no more. The Panthers loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the seventh, trailing 3-1.

    “We didn’t get the ball out of the infield, with our 4-5-6 hitters (in the lineup),” Spensley said. “We have to give credit to their pitchers for making the right pitches.

    “We played good defense, and had above-average pitching for both games.”

    The Panthers split with North Cedar June 24, winning 4-2 and losing 12-1. In the first game, Logan Felton hit a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning. Jordan Schneiter had an RBI double, and Felton had a run-scoring single, in the third.

    Felton also pitched a complete game for the win, getting eight strikeouts and allowing six hits.

    Monticello was held to three hits in the second game.

    “For a team averaging eight or nine runs per game, we sure didn’t show it,” Spensley said.

    The Panthers made up for it the next two nights, scoring a total of 59 runs in four games while sweeping East Buchanan at home and Central City away.

    Monticello won the first East Buchanan game 20-8, taking a 12-run first inning and rolling with it. Zach Dietiker and Brian Miller both went 3-for-3 in the game, while Evan Felton was 3-for-4. Schneiter had two doubles.

    Matt Lee pitched his fourth complete game of the year to get the win.

    “We got back to the things we were doing at the beginning of the year,” the coach said.

    The Panthers trailed twice in the second game, 1-0 after one-half inning and 6-4 after 2½. But a five-run third inning put Monticello ahead to stay, and starter Miller shut out the Buccaneers over the last four innings to get the win.

    Strong starts were key to the wins over Central City Thursday. The Panthers scored five runs over the first two innings of the first game, and opened up an 8-0 lead after 3½ innings. Central City came back to score seven in the bottom of the fourth, but the Panthers answered
with four runs in the fifth, four in the sixth and three in the seventh.

    Schneiter hit a grand slam in the sixth and had five total RBIs. Jacob Thompson had four RBIs, including a three-run homer, and scored six runs in the game.

    “The heart of the order really came through,” coach Spensley said, “and Brian Miller (4-for-5) has bounced back nicely.”

    Schneiter pitched five innings to get the win.

    Monticello also started fast in the second game, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Central City got within two runs, 6-4, after four innings. The Panthers then scored a run in the fifth and three in the sixth to regain control.

    Marcus Prull had two hits and two RBIs in the game. Ethan Zumbach, Dietiker and Thompson had two hits apiece.

    “Marcus did a good job. Ethan and Zach did a good job of getting on, at the top of the order. And Seth Ballou did a nice job behind the plate,” Spensley said.

    “Ethan made some nice catches in center field. He took away some opportunities with runners on.”

    Evan Felton pitched a complete game for the win.   

PINCH HITS
    • A.J. Wolf is out for the rest of the season with cases of pneumonia and mononucleosis. Matt Lee and Marcus Prull will fill in for Wolf at first base in the remaining games.

    • The East Buchanan and Central City games were remarkable in their similarity. Against both opponents, the Panthers won 20-8 in the first game. And they won the second games by five runs apiece, 11-6 over EB and 10-5 over CC.

    • This week hasn’t been much lighter for the Panthers: They were scheduled to play Starmont at home June 30, Vinton-Shellsburg at the Kernels’ home stadium in Cedar Rapids Tuesday, and a makeup at Ed-Co Wednesday, July 2. Then districts begin Saturday, July 5, 7 p.m. against Maquoketa Valley.