Spring is here. Life seems to be reborn this time of year.
And there’s one important thing that comes with the season.
America’s pastime, baseball, is near.
The North Crowley Panthers opened up district play on March 9 at home with a 4-1 victory over the Haltom Buffalos. North Crowley starting pitcher Andrew Cooper threw six innings and recorded 12 strikeouts in the effort. His pitching and ball control were major keys to the district-opening game.
“My off-speed pitches were working early,” said Cooper. “That kept batters off-balance. I also wanted to keep my pitches down around the knees so they couldn’t hit it easily.”
The game started off as a pitchers’ duel, a term used when both pitchers allow few hits or runs. Both teams were scoreless until the top of the third inning when Cooper gave up his only run of the game.
The Panthers trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth with two outs and two runners in scoring position.
Trevor Russell, designated hitter for the Panthers, scored the two runners with a base hit up the middle. Russell’s hit provided most of the offense for the Panthers during the game.
“I got a pitch down the middle,” said Russell. “With two outs you have to make contact. That’s all I was doing up there and it got our guys home.”
The Panthers would take control of the game at that point with their pitching and defense. Cooper continued to throw strike after strike and did not walk a single batter. The Panthers’ defense showed their skill by committing no errors in the field.
“Those guys really helped me out tonight,” said Cooper. “Without a solid defense it’s hard to limit runs and win games.”
Head coach Steve Brown said he was impressed with the entire team effort but believes his offense needs to improve as the season progresses.
“I thought our guys did a good job on the field [playing defense],” said Brown. “Our offense needs to be more patient at the plate. We looked uncomfortable up there and had too many strikeouts.”
The parents of the boys were even more impressed with the team’s performance.
Kathe Cooper, mother of Andrew, believes the Panthers have a good chance to make the playoffs this year.
“I’m so proud of our boys,” said Cooper. “If we play defense like we did tonight and score more runs we can compete against anyone in the playoffs.”
The Panthers are currently 2-1 in district play and are ranked fourth in the district 3-5A standings.
North Crowley will travel to their next district game at Paschal High School on March 26 at 7:30 p.m.
I used Erin Cooper as one of my sources, you seemed to have used the rest of the Cooper Family.
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