There was a lot of action packed into a short varsity matchup between Creston and Chariton Monday night as the Panthers took a 2-1 win.
Leadoff batter Ava Adamson got the Panthers rolling, hitting a triple out of the gate. Avery Staver drove in the run with a sacrifice fly.
From there, both teams struggled offensively as the defenses shut plays down. In the second inning with one out and a Chariton runner on first base, Hailee Smith hit a line drive to the gap between second and third. Panther third baseman Evy Marlin made the impressive catch and threw to first where Kennedy Strider got the runner out on the no-tag. The double play ended the inning in three batters.
Creston pitcher Taryn Fredrickson allowed only one run in seven innings, striking out four batters.
Junior Jersey Foote led off in the fourth inning with a solo homer, her 11th of the season and 23rd all time. She moves into second place for single-season and career home runs, breaking ties with Haylee LaMasters (22, 10) and Nevaeh Randall’s junior season (10). Randall is the career leader with 47 and single-season leader with 21.
Snook responded with a fifth-inning homer to bring the Chargers within one. That one seemed to come in the top of the seventh inning as freshman Mallory Willis knocked a ball out of the park, but Staver in left field wasn’t content to let the Chargers score. Leaping up and stretching over the top of the fence, Staver fielded the ball, bringing it back in bounds and robbing the Chargers of a game-tying hit. It was one of four balls Staver fielded for outs.
The Panthers finished their regular season last night against Clarke. Scores were not available at press time. The Panthers host Indianola in the first round of regionals Thursday.