Power hitting on display in Panther home debut

Tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth with bases loaded and two outs, Creston senior Ava Adamson smacked a ball over the fence for a grand slam, the Panthers (7-2) taking a 6-2 lead over visiting Lewis Central (6-2).

Just three batters later, it was the senior Jersey Foote who homered, sending in three runs to get to the final score of 9-2 in game one of the Panthers home opening doubleheader.

Game two saw two more Panthers hit home runs, starting with junior Avery Staver in the third, a solo homer to lead off the inning.

In the fifth, senior Mila Kuhns hit one over the fence for two runs. The Panthers went on to win that game 7-4.

Game one

The Titans came to the Hawkeye 10 doubleheader undefeated, but the Panther offense kept rolling until their breakout sixth inning.

On defense, senior pitcher Taryn Fredrickson dominated both games for Creston, striking out 12 batters in game one, including seven in a row from the first to third inning.

Of her 86 pitches, 59 were strikes. She allowed just two runs.

With the bases loaded in the second, Sasha Wurster hit a single to send in Foote for the opening score.

Wurster was the next score, making it from second to home in the fifth inning on a single by Adamson.

Adamson’s and Foote’s homers sent in runs by Avery Staver, Fredrickson, Evy Marlin, Sidney Staver and Wurster in the sixth.

The Titans scored twice, the first on an error and the second on a solo home run.

Game two

It was right back to business for the Panthers in game two, forcing a three-and-out for the Titans in the first three innings while scoring four runs of their own in that time.

Adamson and Avery Staver both scored in the first on a single by Marlin. Freshman Cora Smith showed off her speed with a triple in the second that ended in a score from a hit by Adamson.

Including her home run, Avery Staver scored three times in game two on three at-bats. Marlin scored in the fifth on Kuhns’ homer.

The Titans got things turned around in the fourth with two solo home runs, but couldn’t keep up with the Panthers offense. They scored one in each of the fifth and sixth innings before falling 7-4.

Fredrickson struck out seven batters this game, throwing 66 strikes out of 85 pitches, allowing four runs.

The home game scheduled Tuesday against Atlantic (6-1) has been postponed to tonight at 7:30 due to inclement weather.