The once undefeated King’s baseball team had their first loss against the Western Panthers last night 3-1 at Lewis Cass. The loss was very tough for the Kings. They came into the game with a record of 14-0 and were not expecting a loss. Both teams played very well, but Western had some momentum going in one inning and Cass was unable to answer.

The Kings jumped on them the first inning. They got a quick three outs and were up to bat. Lead-off hitter Ryan Bixler started the game with a single from an error by the short stop. Bixler scored later in the inning from a sac fly by Noah Byers. This was all the Kings would be able to score for the night. Western put up 3 runs in the fourth inning to take the lead over the Kings. The Panthers had five of their eight hits in the fourth inning. Braxton Hunt had an RBI double, Luke Florek had an RBI single, and Caleb Maddox drew an RBI walk.

“We’ve been struggling this year putting runs together and things like that,” Western coach Quentin Brown said. “Cass is an awesome ball club and I don’t think their one loss against us is going to do anything to affect them. They’re well coached and they’ll definitely bounce right back. But for us it’s definitely a quality win.”

Right-handed senior Austin Weaver pitched for the Panthers. Weaver held the Kings to one run (none earned) on four hits and no walks. He also had five strike-outs.  Tyler Burthay went 2-for-3 with a run scored to lead the Panthers in hitting. Right-handed senior Jake Wilburn pitched for the Kings. He had one walk and three strike-outs. Austin Hanlon had two hits to lead the Kings. Byers and Jake Miller each added a hit.

The Kings failed to put up runs during their last chance in the seventh inning. They hit the ball well, but they hit right to them. Hanlon had a two-out base hit in the seventh. Conner Zeck had a nice hit to center, but the game was over when the ball was caught by Hunt.

The Kings dropped to 2-1 in the conference and Western improved to 2-1. Eastern is the only team left in the conference that is 3-0. The Kings no longer have a chance at an undefeated season, but they still have a good chance in the conference. Also, their 14-0 start is something to be very proud of.

“It’s definitely hard to go undefeated,” Marschand said, “but we’ve got a bunch of fighters here who are willing to get back up. It’s tough when you win 14 in a row and inevitably you know [a loss] is going to happen. But the true test will be will you get back up, or are you going to lick your wounds and feel sorry for yourself? These guys aren’t that type of guys. I’m sure they’ll get back up and get with it.”