In a close battle Friday night, the Panthers came out on top from a walk-off single by Arnoldo Velazquez.

Hammond opened the scoring in the first with two runs. The score remained 2-0 until the fourth when Jack Salzeider hit an RBI single to center field followed by Velazquez walking in a run to tie the game.

The sixth had just as much action as Velazquez hit an RBI double followed by more RBIs from Gino Gazzillo and Colin Early. The Panthers also got an extra lucky run on a balk, bringing the score to 5-2.

The top of the seventh had a couple of errors on two different singles, letting in four runs. The score after seven was 6-5 Hammond.In a nail-biting eighth inning, the Panthers played excellent defense, putting away three Vikings batters in a row. The team then walked the bases loaded with two outs, but ultimately could not put a run on the board to tie the game.

The Panthers found their fire in the ninth, getting a beautiful double play to retire the side and looking to carry momentum into their last chance at survival. Michael Pustunik led off and hit a double right field, bringing the Panther fans one last glimpse of hope. Korbin Lawson and Jack Salzeider walked next loading the bases with no outs. Vinnie Marvucic hit a phenomenal sac fly to left to bring Pustunik in to score, bringing the score even at six.

Velazquez swung hard on a 1-2 pitch, driving the ball out of the reach of the third baseman. Korbin Lawson made a risky move to round third from second and take off to win the game. The throw from left field was off-target, giving the Panthers the win on a walk-off.

Velazquez was very thrilled to be the man to do it for Indiana, saying, “There’s always ways you can help the team win and, you know, I’m just one of those players that likes to find ways to help the team win.” Arnoldo also mentioned he was thrilled with how the team was getting along and how fast the chemistry was building in this team that just met each other.

Gino Gazzillo got the win on the mound, coming in from right field to pitch the last two innings with two strikeouts and only one hit. Max Hoogeveen started for the Panthers, pitching five innings and giving up four hits. Korbin Lawson relieved in the sixth and seventh, giving up five hits and three earned runs.

Coach Sean Pierce was happy with the team’s performance, highlighting Max Hoogeveen, “He gave me everything he had today and it was awesome.” Coach Pierce mentioned some things to clean up in the coming games, pointing out the mental mistakes made by the defense. “We’re making, I think, mental mistakes, really. If we clean those up, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

This was the first game of a four-game series against Hammond. The teams are set to have a double-header on Sunday starting at 1. Keep up with the game by viewing our Facebook live streams or adding yourself as a fan on Gamechanger.