The Mountain Grove Lady Panthers’ softball team have opened their season with three tough losses at home.
In what ended up being their home opener, the Lady Panthers fell to Van Buren, 8-7.
Trailing 7-4 through five innings, the Lady Panthers put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth before being unable to complete a rally in their final at-bat.
Abby Fry had two RBIs and one run scored; Zoey Criner had one RBI and one run scored; both Samee Peterson and Taylor Hicks had one RBI; while Desi Cantrell, Landry Golden and Stella Benson each scored one run.
On the mound, Cantrell tossed four and a third innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits with one strikeout and two walks.
Audrey Ipock lasted two and two-thirds innings and allowed no earned runs on two hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
One day later, the Lady Panthers dropped another heartbreaker, this time to Strafford, 7-6.
Then on Thursday, Mountain Grove fell to a solid Thayer team, 11-3.
(No statistics were made available for the Strafford and Thayer games by press time.)
