Panthers Batter Mustangs, Move on to Second Round of Playoffs

After its team fell behind 1-0 in the first inning of Friday’s first round playoff game against Bladensburg, assistant coaches Fred Howze and Sheldon Dunbar gathered the team together and gave what Dunbar deemed, "a soft talk."

The gentle approach did the trick, as the Panthers exploded for 16 runs in the second inning to blow open the game and cruise to a 27-3 victory. The contest was halted after the top of the fifth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.

“They shocked us when we gave that soft talk,” Dunbar said, “’cause you know half the time, when you give ballplayers a soft talk, they’re like, ‘All right, we’ve got you.’ But once they went out, the adrenaline started running.”

Parkdale senior Eli Deogracia and sophomore Kelvin Reyes hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning for Parkdale, which batted around twice in the frame. Senior first baseman Vincent “Scooter” Jenkins hit a bases-loaded triple and a two-run double.

“I feel that once we started moving the bats, it got the pitcher’s attention,” said Deogracia, who also homered in the fourth inning to give him five for the season. “Then he started walking a couple and leaving some [pitches] hanging, and that’s where we took advantage. It kept rolling after that.”

Reyes’ homer was his third of the season. He also had a strong outing on the pitcher’s mound, allowing just one run in three innings of work. Freshman Naja Garcia pitched the other two innings.

“The bats came alive, big time,” Reyes said. “Since Eli came up and then I hit a home run, everyone got pumped up, like, ‘I’m trying to hit a home run, too.’ So, they just started hitting.”

The Panthers improved to 12-6 and will travel to Eleanor Roosevelt on Monday for the second round of the 4A South region playoffs.

Roosevelt clobbered Parkdale in their last meeting – . So, did Friday’s easy victory provide a boost of confidence heading into Monday’s rematch?

“No, not really,” Howze said. “We know what we’ve got to do. As a matter of fact, the only way we’re going to beat Roose is if we play defense. If we don’t play defense, then we will not beat them. We can hit, but we’re just not fielding the ball that well, and any time you’re playing a good team, you’ve got to play defense. They’re going to hit the ball – we’ve just got to be able to catch the ball.”

Indeed, defense has been a problem in several of Parkdale’s games against top teams, most of which have been close contests.

“This is a young team, and when you’ve got a young team you’re going to make mistakes," Howze said. "But each game you should get better and better. We’ll see how good we are Monday. We’re not bad as a team, but we’re just not focused like we should be focused.”