Elkhart County, IN- Early this season, the Panthers were not winning the close games. After defeating the Miracle 7-6, their last two games have been won by two runs or less. Not to mention, they defeated the Vikings 9-7 Saturday, June 3 in their continuation of the suspended game against them Opening Day in late May. 

“As long as we play teams close, we will find a way to win.” 

That was head coach Deandre Gilmore after the Panthers’ second win in a row and third of the season.

Things got off to a slow start in this contest, until the third inning where the Panthers struck first. With Ballard and Tate in scoring position, John-Michael Scumaci brought them both in with a one out single. 

The Miracle immediately responded and were able to take the lead in their bottom-half of the third. The Miracle brought in three runs with only one hit in the inning. The Panthers allowed three walks, four stolen bases, and a runner to score on a wild pitch in the inning.

With the score 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, the Miracle extended their lead with a Willis triple that allowed Evan Laws to score from first. The Miracle stranded Willis at third as Alphonzo Franks produced a pop up.

The Panthers responded in their next at-bats with a triple of their own from Robert Tate. Josh Ballard singled and allowed Tate to score his second run of the ballgame. Ballard eventually went 3-5 on the night with that sequence being his only RBI. Ballard continued to make an effect and stole second and then scored from there on an error from the pitcher. The game was tied at four. 

The game continued to go back-and-forth as the Elkhart County Miracle retained the lead with a RBI-groundout in the bottom of the sixth. 

After another scoreless inning for the Panthers, the Miracle added one in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 6-4 ballgame. The Panthers were in a tight one in the later stages of the game with only six outs to play with. The Panthers were in a very similar position in their last back-and-forth affair in Elkhart County where they were trailing late. The Panthers wanted this time around to be a happy ending. 

With two outs in the eighth, Brendan Gibson singled to bring in Gabe Cortez. Josh Lamb doubled for his first hit of the game to keep the inning alive and advanced Cortez to third. The Panthers took advantage of another error as it allowed Gibson to score. It was now 6-6. 

The Miracle were not able to bring in a leadoff single and the Panthers had Scumaci, Rainey, and Cortez due up. After a Scumaci strikeout, Alijah Rainey ripped a triple. The second of the night as their recent triple success continued. Once again, the Panthers took advantage of an error, as Cortez reached on an E-4 and Rainey scored easily.

The triples in this game continued as Miracle six-hitter Jaden Miller tripled with only one out. The tying run was 90-feet away, but the next two Miracle batters struck out and the Panthers completed the comeback. 

Deandre Gilmore saw a winning streak like this coming since the beginning of the season even when things did not look promising. Even though it is more apparent as of late, the skipper said how this team never lacked confidence. He even mentioned how those close losses at the beginning of the year benefitted the players. 

“They have always been confident. Sometimes the players have to go through close games to build that experience and learn from the losses that we took previously.”