On Friday night, there was a divide on one side of Panther Drive and another difficult defeat on the other. In a doubleheader, the Knoxville Baseball Squad split with Centerville, winning game one 14-3 after the fifth inning. Grant DeMoss hit a three-run homer to left field in the third inning to give the Panthers a 5-2 lead, which was the decisive blow. DeMoss and Kyler Gifford both had three RBI. Roston McCarty won by walking one batter and giving up just three hits. The Big Reds overcame the Panthers in the nightcap, winning 9-0 before Knoxville began to make inroads. Gifford would record three hits once more and drive in two runs as the Panthers defeated Centerville 10–7. Brenden Woolsey took the defeat after only one inning and a third of work. In general, Coach Turner Devore was happy with this week.
Devore: We were aware that we had a lot of work ahead of us. Talking about how terrific our pitching has been on the bus ride home last night may have jinxed us because we had a lot of men throw this week.
Knoxville’s season record is now 12-7. It was another difficult night for the Knoxville Softball Squad on Panther Drive. They fell down early in the game but rallied to take the lead in the middle and maintained it until the sixth inning, when Centerville took the lead once more and won 8–6. On Monday, both Panther teams will return to action when they visit Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.
