Central celebrates Senior Night by sweeping baseball, softball games

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Senior Night turned into quite the affair for the Central baseball and softball teams.

The Panthers punctuated a 10-1 victory over Triopia on the baseball diamond by bookending the game with four-run innings in the first and sixth, while on the softball field, the Panthers made a pair of third-inning runs hold up in a 2-1 victory over Quincy Notre Dame.

Central got the baseball game rolling with a two-out rally. Connor Griffin was hit by a pitch with one out, and Carter Eyler followed with a single. After a strikeout, Ross Riley reached on an error that allowed two runs to score. Mason Miller followed with an RBI double, and another error allowed the fourth run of the inning to score.

That was more than enough run support for Miller, who struck out nine, walked four, allowed three hits and gave up an unearned run over six innings to earn the victory. Tanner Kindhart struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh inning.

Miller also went 3 for 4 with two doubles and three RBIs, while Riley went 2 for 4 with three runs scored and Brydon Allison had two hits.

Meanwhile, at the softball diamond, the Panthers grabbed the lead in the third inning as Karly Peters got things going with a one-out single. Huston’s sacrifice bunt turned into an error to put runners at the corners. Lauren Miller’s single plated the first run, and she scored to make it 2-0.

QND answered with a run in the top of the fourth as Alyssa Ley led off with a walk, and pinch-runner Amber Durst scored on Addi Zanger’s out-out double. The Raiders had only one other baserunner thereafter courtesy of Brooke Boden’s leadoff single in the sixth.

Central’s Kelsey Bockhold struck out six, walked two and allowed one run and six hits in earning the victory. Peters went 3 for 3 as the Panthers collected seven singles off QND starter Caitlin Bunte, who struck out seven and walked none. Bunte had two of QND’s six hits.