The Crestwood Panthers droppesd a close one to the Lake County Corn Dogs on Wednesday night at Legacy Field in Crown Point.  

The 5-4 loss was the Panthers third of the year to the Corn Dogs. The Panthers still remain in fourth in the Northern League Standings six games behind the first-place Corn Dogs.  

The game was a pitchers duel early on as both teams traded zeroes through the first three innings, but the Corn Dogs finally broke through with two runs in the fourth. The Panthers would respond in the fifth inning as Peter Fusek drove in his league-leading 27th run on the year with an RBI single to make it 2-1.  

In the sixth, “Q” Noble was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and manufactured a run by himself by stealing second, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a second wild pitch tying the game at two. Noble’s night was not over as he was able to get two RBIs on a bloop single in the seventh to give the Panthers a 4-2 lead. Head coach D’Vante Glenn loved his performance.  

“We definitely needed it.” Glenn said, “I’ve played with “Q”, I’ve coached “Q”, and I expect him to have those good moments.”  

The lead was short-lived, however as the Corn Dogs scored three times off Will Moell in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-4 lead. The Panthers could not answer, and the Corn Dogs held on for the win.  

On the mound, Charlie Faoro was solid in his second start with the Panthers going five innings and giving up two runs on three hits in five innings. Glenn was pleased with the start Faoro gave.

“Charlie has been one of our most consistent guys.” Glenn said, “It was expectant to see him go out and do what he does.”  

The Panthers play next on Thursday at 5 p.m. against the Joliet Generals at Marian Catholic High School. The Panthers are a half game ahead of the Generals in the Northern League standings. The Panthers are 2-3 against the Generals this season.  

For the full box score, visit the Northern League Pointstreak page: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=577415