Panos’ pitching, big bats spark Red Raiders’ victory By Paul S. Brittain
ALVERTON – Uniontown came out swinging on Friday at Southmoreland, and rolled to a 13-2 Section 2-AAA win behind the four-hit pitching of Alex Panos. The first seven batters reached base for the Red Raiders, and the first six crossed the plate before the Scotties got an out.
Cody Jackson and Evan Arison started the game with the first of three hits for both batters. James Stambaugh walked and Cody Cross singled to drive in Jackson and Arison. Justin Lewis followed with a single to drive in Stambaugh and Cross.
Bobby King was hit by a pitch and Lucas Mosco was safe on an error to load the bases. Anthony Sparks hit into a double play as Lewis scored, and King hustled around third base to score on the double play for a 6-0 lead.
Panos allowed only one base runner through the first nine batters on a walk to Jeremy Hixson.
In the meantime, the Red Raiders scored once in the second when Arison doubled and later scored on an infield error. Arison doubled to drive in Mosco and Mason Fordyce in the third, and Cody Jackson scored on a base loaded walk to Cross as Uniontown led 10-0.
Mosco homered over the left center field fence in the fourth, and the Scotties broke the shutout when Christian Leonard scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning.
An error led to Southmoreland’s second run in the fifth and Dylan Prutz singled to drive in Coty Villinger to cut the lead to 11-2.
The Red Raiders scored twice in the sixth when Michael Payton singled to drive in Jordan Stinger and John Szewczyk’s sacrifice fly drove in Dante O’Connell with the game’s final run. Panos set the Scotties down in order in the bottom of the inning.
For Uniontown (5-10, 4-7), the win was the team’s third in a row. Southmoreland (3-11, 2-9) lost for the seventh straight time, dating back to an extra inning win over Uniontown on April 14.
When asked if he relaxed with the 11-run lead, Uniontown coach Scott Hruby said, “You can never relax in high school baseball. I don’t feel comfortable until the game is over.”
Hruby said Panos “stays poised and keeps his head in the game no matter the situation.” He praised the entire team for hitting the ball well. “We’ve hit well all year, just often right at guys. It was nice to see us find the gaps and some holes. Cody and Evan stepped up today, and the whole team did a great job.”