Panthers give their coach big win over former team

It may be true that the Mountain Grove Panthers’ baseball team has won just one time in its past seven games, but that one win was a special one.
Mountain Grove’s new coach Jeff Richardson came over from Houston this season and likely had the Panthers’ match-up with the Tigers circled on his schedule. His players responded by traveling to Houston and leaving with a convincing 12-2 victory. A five-run top of the fifth inning helped Mountain Grove pull away for the 10-run win.
Skip Thompson had three RBIs and one run scored; Taylor Garner had two RBIs; Sam Peterson scored three times; both Brayden Haughey and Trace Harker had one RBI and scored twice; Eli Golden and Kaden Murphy had one RBI and one run scored; while Garrett Hutsell and Destin Unger each scored one run.
Haughey tossed five scoreless innings and gave up just one hit with three walks.
They fell to rival Ava, 10-2, at the end of the week.
Hutsell had one RBI while Haughey scored one run.
Harker tossed three and a third innings and gave up five earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and eight walks. Briar Parsons tossed three and two-thirds innings and gave up one earned run on one hit with one strikeout and two walks.
On Thursday, the Panthers traveled to Licking and left with a 17-2 loss.
The Wildcats had a nine-run second inning as they took advantage of five Panthers’ errors in the contest.
Hutsell and Harker each had one RBI while Haughey and Peterson both scored one run.
Hutsell went one and a third innings and gave up seven earned runs on four hits with one strikeout and four walks. Garner tossed one and a third innings and gave up two earned runs, no hits, one strikeout and five walks. Parsons tossed two-thirds of an inning and gave up four earned runs on five hits with one strikeout.