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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

Guy Howard’s first season as the head coach of Pelham baseball could not have gotten off to a better start.

The Panthers currently sit at 2-0 after an 11-0 win over Chilton County on Thursday, Feb. 13 and a 5-2 win over Lincoln on Friday, Feb. 14.

Both wins came on the road behind stellar offensive performances and lockdown pitching from Pelham.

The first matchup against the Tigers was an offensive clinic with the Panthers jumping all over opposing pitcher Jonathan Terrell early and often. Mason Six led off the game with a walk, and stole both second and third base in the next at-bat. Terrell threw a wild pitch to Andrew Petrock, and Six scored the opening run with no outs in the top of the first inning.

Terrell regained control after this, getting Petrock to line out and striking out the next two batters to get out of the inning only down 1-0.

Blake Woodall was dominant all game for Pelham on the mound, only allowing one hit and throwing seven strikeouts across three innings of work. His game started with two strikeouts in the bottom of the first, only allowing two baserunners via a walk and a single.

The top of the second saw Pelham take firm control, scoring four runs to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The Panthers loaded the bases on the first three batters of the inning, and Six drew a walk to score a run to make it 2-0. Terrell was removed after this at-bat.

After Terrell’s removal, Carson Hopwood scored on a wild pitch and Petrock walked, making the score 3-0 with the bases still loaded.

Garin Fitts then grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring two runs on the play to make it 5-0.

Both teams struggled to find offense in the next couple of innings, with Woodall continuing to shove and Chilton County beginning to stop the bleeding.

Pelham scored three runs in the fourth and fifth innings, cementing their 11-0 lead. Samuel Tolbert, JP Anderson and Hopwood all had RBIs in the fourth, while Tolbert added another RBI in the fifth to pace the offense.

Ryan Hurd was exceptional in relief work for the Panthers, pitching two innings of no-hit ball with three strikeouts.

The Pelham offense scored 11 runs on seven hits and nine RBIs in the game, displaying a plethora of offensive weapons in Coach Howard’s first game. The pitching was also equally dominant, giving up one hit and throwing ten strikeouts.

The Panthers next matchup on the road against the Lincoln Golden Bears was much closer than their first game but still resulted in a 5-2 Pelham victory.

Petrock pitched four innings of shutout ball with nine strikeouts to hold the Lincoln offense in check. The offense once again got off to a strong start in the first, scoring the opening run on a Fitts ground ball that led to an error.

Pelham used small ball to score all five runs, accumulating walks and capitalizing on the Golden Bears’ four errors to pace the offense.

Lincoln’s only runs came in the final frame, with the Golden Bears loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh and scoring two runs on a fielder’s choice. With one out and Lincoln threatening to get back into the game down 5-2, the Golden Bears hit into a double play to end the game.

The Panthers’ next matchup will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 18 in another road trip, this time to face the Homewood Patriots.