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By: Carley Rider
The Iowa-Grant Panthers had a challenge ahead of them Tuesday when they met number one seeded Belmont Braves in a WIAA Division 4 Regional semi-final.
The Panthers traveled to Belmont's field for this playoff game suffered the loss a 13-3 after a three run homerun, a solo homerun, and a grand slam by the Braves in the fourth inning.
Up until the bottom of the fourth inning, the Panthers were leading the Braves by one run. Isaac Hill punched out the first batter with three strikes. The next two batters were walked, fueling Belmont's success. With two runners on base, a ball launched out of the park went for three runs. The next batter tallied another run with another ball over the fence. The Panthers looked to end the batting success of the Braves by entering a new pitcher only for a grand slam to be hit. The Panthers brought in a third pitcher with only one out. After allowing another Belmont run, the Panthers were finally able to close the inning but not before nine runs scored.
Junior Matthew Winders drove in all three runs for the Panthers. In the first inning, with Ross Havlik on third, Winders was able to drive a ball to right, drawing in the run. On a full count in the third, he sent a ball to left field which was bobbled, allowing baserunners Nic Connolly and Ross Havlik to score.
In the first inning, Isaac Hill set down two batters with strikeouts. Hill added another strikeout in the second inning. In the fourth inning, Hill added one last strike out to his list.
The game was cut short when the Braves hit a deep ball to right center, drawing in the final run to ten-run rule the Panthers by the 13-3 score.