Eagles Break Out Rally Caps In Classic Comeback Win Over Panthers

Guarding The Plate… Eagle senior catcher Carson Gard steps on home plate for a force out after fielding a ground ball during Holden’s road conference game against Knob Noster on Thursday, April 20. Gard had two hits and a walk in the game. The Eagles rallied from five runs down to record a win by the final score of 9-7. Photo by Steve Edwards
Playing in a road conference game, the Eagles clawed back from a five-run deficit against Knob Noster to emerge with a 9-7 come-from-behind win over the Panthers on Thursday, April 20.
With Panther starting pitcher Trey Payne allowing just two Eagle runs through just over five innings, and the home team scattering seven runs through the first five innings, Knob Noster seemingly held a comfortable lead heading into the seventh with the score at 7-2.
The Eagles would push seven runs across the plate in the top of the seventh inning as the Holden lineup batted around in the frame.
“That was one of the wildest endings that I have been involved in,” said Holden baseball coach Charlie Castle. “It looked like we were buried when we were down five going into our last at-bat, but fortunately, our kids kept battling and took advantage when they ran out of pitching. It really wasn’t any one at-bat…we just had some good, patient at-bats where we took some walks, and then sprinkled in some timely hits to complete the comeback. The big thing is we made contact as they didn’t have a strikeout in the inning.
Holden’s two early runs went across the plate in the fourth inning when a ground ball by Lane Siemer plated Aiden Morarity. In Holden’s next at-bat, Carson Gard made contact to score Aiden Christian.
“Knob’s Trey Payne pitched 5 2/3 innings, and gave up two unearned runs,” noted coach Castle. “Though he was his usual tough self, we did manage to get his pitch count up to finally force him out of the game. But it looked as if it might be too late, especially after their reliever retired Tyler Barker on a hard groundout to end the sixth with two runners in scoring position to protect a 7-2 lead.
See Full Story In This Week’s Image…