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3-run homer punishes Panthers baseball for inconsistent offense

Posted 4/23/19

Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

One swing Monday night denied Paradise Honors baseball a chance at a three-game winning streak.

Panthers baseball coach Charlie Summers left the 5-4 loss to …

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3-run homer punishes Panthers baseball for inconsistent offense

Posted

Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

One swing Monday night denied Paradise Honors baseball a chance at a three-game winning streak.

Panthers baseball coach Charlie Summers left the 5-4 loss to Phoenix Horizon Honors more concerned about most of the swings from his lineup.

All four of the home team's runs came courtesy of two swings. Junior Hayden King hit a two-run homer over the left field fence, driving in sophomore Joey Collier.

In the third inning, King singled and benefited from a bomb by junior Sam Nickels to almost the same spot.

"We've pitched very well all season and one of the things we haven't done consistently is hit," Summers said. "I really didn't think we faced an overpowering pitcher and we still couldn't muster more than four runs. We put two good swings on balls, obviously, but not much outside of that."

Paradise Honors (8-9-1 overall, 8-8 regular season) led 4-0 at that point, with King on the mound.

The Eagles got on the board in the fourth inning thanks to a Panthers error.

Then Horizon Honors (11-11, 8-10) loaded the bases in the fifth and sophomore John Fera hit a sacrifice fly. Senior Chris Hernandez followed with a three-run blast to left and gave the visitors a 5-4 lead.

Summers' offensive concerns proved prophetic as in their final three turns at bat, the team mustered only Collier's single.

Still, the Panthers coach does not remain frustrated at this team for long. In part, that is because he was not the Panthers coach when the season started.

The Surprise charter school parted ways with  former coach Demian Welker on Feb. 13. Summers came on board Feb. 22, three days before the Panthers season opener.

"I'm very proud of them. If you look at our opponents ratings, until tonight every loss we had was to a teams that was ranked ninth in the state of higher," Summers said. "When you look at that, we've played one of the toughest schedules in the state, if not the toughest."

That tough schedule had Paradise Honors ranked No. 10 in 3A entering the game. They dropped to No. 13 as of Tuesday.

The loss probably wipes out any chance for Panthers baseball to grab a top eight seed and a bye. But a win in the season finale Wednesday at Buckeye Odyssey Institute would allow Paradise Honors to host a play-in game April 30. It will be the program's first postseason game since 2015.

If they win that, Summers said his team can be a factor in the main, 16-team 3A bracket thanks to its pitching depth and the single elimination format on consecutive Fridays and Saturdays.

Collier, King, junior James Hamill and Nickels have all been effective in spots.

"We have a lot of solid pitching and you get into two days in a row at the state tournament, it benefits the teams with good pitching depth. We have four pretty good pitchers," Summers said.

While this Panthers baseball team boasts plentiful pitching, it has battled through one of those "only in small school baseball" situations.

Paradise Honors literally has one catcher.

"Our catcher, Thomas Spiegelmire, has just been a rock. He's caught every inning of every game because we don't have a backup," Summers said. "He wish he was hitting a hair better, he certainly has been solid for us. Our other catcher is a freshman who isn't quite ready for varsity."

Paradise Honors junior first baseman James Hamill ranges toward the bag in an attempt to field a ball April 22 in Surprise. [Courtesy Mako Photography][/caption]