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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Two of the top teams in Class 6A clashed with area stakes on the line as the Spain Park Jaguars and Pelham Panthers clashed on the baseball diamond, and in the end, the teams split the two-game series.

Spain Park secured the game one victory by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday, April 1 at Spain Park High School before Pelham won game two 4-1 on Thursday, April 3 at Pelham High School.

After a scoreless first inning in the opener, the Jags got room to work in the bottom of the second thanks to a Davis lead-off double, a Slade Bounds bunt that led to an error and finally a Jack Lutenbacher walk.

Pelham then hit Jack Sellers with a pitch with the bases loaded to score the opening run, and two batters later, Andrew Thornton doubled up the lead to 2-0 off a sacrifice fly.

The Panthers played small ball in response in the top of the third, capitalizing off a pair of base runners on the first three at-bats to halve the deficit with an Andrew Petrock sacrifice fly.

Pelham then loaded up the bases to start the top of the fourth thanks to a Dylan Smith single and a pair of free base runners.

Spain Park recovered with a pair of outs, but while getting the second out at second base, Ryan Hurd came home with the tying run. Sellers then fired a throw to home to get Sam Tolbert out and end the inning with a double play.

The Jags caught a runner stealing in the top of the fifth to get out unscathed, and they got in business in the bottom half of the inning with a Rhys Jones lead-off walk and a Connor Greb one-out single.

Two batters later, Bounds overcame a two-out hole by placing a hopper into right field, good enough to score both runners and retake a 4-2 lead.

That set up Spain Park to see out the victory with strong play from its pitching staff and infield to keep the Panthers bats silent.

Patrick McQueeney got the win as he struck out five batters in six innings, allowing just two runs off two hits and three walks.

Nash Davis was the lone Spain Park player with a multi-hit game as he went 2-for-3 with a run. Bounds finished with two RBI and a run in a 1-for-3 night. Max Vinson finished the seventh inning hitless to secure the save.

For Pelham, Blake Woodall earned the loss on the mound but still finished with seven strikeouts in six innings. Just two of the four runs that crossed the plate were earned, and he allowed four hits and four walks.

Two days later, the pitchers dueled yet again in another low-scoring outing. Pelham’s Ryan Hurd and Spain Park’s Charles Kramer kept the opposing offenses scoreless through two innings before the Panthers found a way to break through in the bottom of the third.

Mason Six reached off a lead-off walk and quickly stole second with Ethan Drawhorn at the plate. Drawhorn sent a bunt to first, but an error let him get all the way to third before getting out. Six crossed home plate during the chaos though, giving Pelham a 1-0 lead.

That lead held all the way through the top of the sixth when Spain Park equalized.

After Joe Cross got aboard with a lead-off single, the Jags quickly fell in a two-out hole. Arnold Bush opted to bunt with two outs and ended up forcing an error of his own, allowing Cross to score and tie the game at 1-1.

With both teams now even with runs off errors, Pelham responded in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away.

While the lead-off batter flew out to center, Andrew Petrock drew a walk to put one on for Dylan Smith. Smith then ripped a double to center while Petrock booked it from first to home, scoring the go-ahead run for the 2-1 lead.

A Hurd single and Braden Lee walk loaded up the bases for Six, and he drew a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 3-1. Drawhorn then the next pitch on the ground to third, and that led to another error and pinch-runner Trey Hall scoring to make it a 4-1 ball game.

However, the Panthers weren’t out of the woods yet as a pair of one-out walks forced a pitching change with two on and one out. That led to an error by the infield that loaded up the bases and brought the go-ahead run to the plate.

Lee settled in and struck out the next batter before forcing a first-pitch ground out to seal the 4-1 victory.

Hurd took the win with eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings. He didn’t allow any earned runs while working around eight walks and two hits to leave just one unearned run on the board. Lee got the save with by keeping the Jags scoreless in the final two-thirds of an inning.

The Panthers improved to 14-11 with the game two win and will next face Class 2A No. 2 Vincent on Saturday, April 5 at 1:30 p.m.

That will precede the final area series of the season against Chelsea, with game one coming at the Chelsea Sports Complex on Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m. before game two on Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Pelham High School.

Spain Park sits at 15-12 going into its final non-area game of the year against Briarwood on Saturday, April 5 at 11 a.m. at Briarwood Christian School. The Jags will finish area play against Helena, with game one taking place on Tuesday, April 8 at Helena High School before Thursday, April 10’s game two at Spain Park High School. Both games will start at 6:30 p.m.