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Panthers start baseball season strong

By Sue Sitter - | May 5, 2023

A winning first week in the Rugby Panthers’ baseball season gave the team a good start, according to Coach Travis Risovi.

A 3-2 home win in Rugby against Bottineau kicked off the Panthers’ season, followed by a decisive 18-3 win in Rolette against Northern Lights.

The Panthers returned to their home at Rugby’s Northern Lights Field to take on the North Star Bearcats, last year’s Region 5 champions.

The Panthers defeated the Bearcats 3 to 1.

A few errors had plagued the Panthers in their opener against Bottineau, and the Panthers had taken advantage of errors by Northern Lights the next day to rack up the high run total.

But Risovi said the Panthers knew North Star’s Bearcats would allow no room for mistakes when they came to Rugby.

The Panthers leaped out to an early lead in the first inning, when catcher Erik Foster batted in runner Macen Heisler with a base hit to deep right field. The Panthers would get six hits from Bearcats pitchers Zach Jorde and Dane Hagler.

By contrast, Rugby’s Brody Schneibel and defense in the field would give up just three hits to North Star.

Schneibel and Foster worked out some early game jitters after a wild pitch landed North Star’s Hunter Hagler on base, then another allowed him to cross home plate.

But Foster put the Panthers in the lead again when he batted in Heisler, this time with a hit to center field.

As Rugby’s defense tightened up, batters connected with the ball more. Brody Schneibel’s brother, Austin, landed a hit to deep center field. The Bearcats managed to end the inning with Austin Schneibel stranded, but the close call signaled an eventual pitching change for North Star.

The Bearcats would leave one runner stranded in the sixth inning after a single by Jorde put a potential tie run on base. Rugby’s infield and two fly catches to right field by Jaden Wald contained the threat.

A short chopper hit by Rugby’s Tatum Risovi put another run on base at the bottom of the inning. Heisler would advance him with a hit to deep center field before shortstop Jacob Ripplinger batted Risovi home.

With the Bearcats denied a chance to get traction in the last inning, the game ended with a 3-1 win for Rugby.

“It’s one of those things,” Risovi said after the game. “It’s kind of what baseball should look like – two really good teams, good pitching, a three to one game, and that’s what this is.”

“They’re a really good baseball team,” he said of North Star. “I think we have a really good baseball team, too. It was fun to watch.”

The Panthers will travel to an out-of-region tournament in Beulah April 29, where the Panthers fell to Beulah by a narrow 4-3 score before winning 5-2 over Renville County’s Muskrats. Rugby returned to region play May 1 with a home game against the Harvey-Wells County Hornets, and then in Cando, where Rugby would meet North Star on the Bearcats’ home field.

The results of those games will appear in next week’s Tribune.