Panthers end Indians state bid

By Eric Wilson
eric@hometowngirard.com

The St. Paul Indians were defeated by the St. Mary’s-Colgan Panthers 11-1 in the 2-1A Regional Baseball Championship Thursday evening. Colgan advanced to the state tournament in Great Bend, while St. Paul’s season came to an end.
Everything seemed to go the Panthers way during the game, as the Indians struggled at the mound and at the plate.

Brendon Doherty got the start for St. Paul. The Panthers seemed to have figured out Doherty from the start, scoring six runs in the first inning.
The next two innings each provided one run for Colgan, making the score 8-0 after the third inning.
Braven Born came in to relieve Doherty and kept the Panthers at bay for the next couple innings.
Meanwhile, the only hit in the game for St. Paul occurred in the second inning when senior Brent Vitt singled to left field.
Finally, in the fourth inning, St. Paul got on the board. After Doherty walked, he slowly made his way around the bases following wild pitches to make the score 8-1 after the fourth.
In the fifth, the Indians went scoreless again, and trouble awaited them in the bottom half of the inning.
After three runs crossed home, making the score 11-1, the game was called. St. Paul had been run-ruled and Colgan was moving on to the state tournament.
Chase VanBecelaere pitched the entire game for the Panthers allowing only one run and recording twelve strikeouts.

For St. Paul, Brenden Doherty allowed eight runs in 2.1 innings and recorded six strikeouts, while Braven Born allowed three runs in 2.1 innings and recorded a single strikeout.
The loss dropped the Indians’ record to 12-7 on the year. This year’s team finished second in the league and had a very impressive record for a 1A school competing against much larger 3A schools at times.
Regarding the game, St. Paul head coach Kenny Crager said, “We were not happy with how our season ended but we were beaten by an excellent baseball team. The Colgan Panthers are a class team.”
Crager also commented on a bright future ahead of his team, with confidence in his young group of men in preparation for next season. The Indians have a lot to be excited about, especially with their numbers trending upward the last two seasons both in the record books and player participation.