Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers hosted the Banks County Leopards in a home region matchup on Tuesday night. The Panthers are looking for their first region win of the season.
The Panthers got things going early after Junior Lake Hughes pitched a quick first half inning. The Panthers got on the base paths early as Hughes walked, Junior Thomas Dyer bunted him over to second base, Senior Isaak Mullinack got a hit, and Senior Zeke Swartz hit a single to score Hughes. The Panthers had an early 1 run lead after the 1st inning. The Leopards responded quickly with a single, hit batter, an infield single and a double to score 2 runs. The Leopards showed exactly why they’re ranked in the top 2 of the region. The Panthers responded to tie the game in the 3rd inning after Hughes was walked, stole 2nd and 3rd base and scored on a fielders choice off of a Mullinack hit. The Leopards responded again as they scored 3 runs in the 4th inning. After a hit batter, the Leopards hit a deep fly ball that rolled to the fence, scored a run but the batter was thrown out as he attempted an in the park home run. With 2 outs, the Leopards didn’t back down, hitting 2 doubles that scored 2 more runs. The Panthers were able to score 1 run in the bottom half of the 5th inning after Dyer was walked, Mullinack singled, and Swartz singled to score Dyer. The Panthers failed to score any more as 2 runners were left on base. The Panthers fall to the Leopards 5-3 as the Panthers fall to 5-11 and 0-4 in region play. The Panthers travel to Banks County to play a double header on Friday night.