One day after a lopsided victory over Suitland, the Parkdale High School baseball team found itself trailing early in Friday’s game at High Point.
The way the Panthers have been hitting this spring, though, no deficit has been insurmountable, and that was the case yet again as Parkdale rallied to take the lead and eventually held on for an 8-7, eight-inning victory in a Prince George’s County 4A contest.
Parkdale sophomore starting pitcher Kelvin Reyes dedicated the victory to Panthers head coach Charles Mackey, who missed the game due to illness.
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Friday’s win was the fourth in a row for Parkdale, which improved to 5-2 this spring. The Panthers scored two runs in the eighth inning to earn Friday’s victory.
“We knew we could hit the ball,” Parkdale assistant coach Fred Howze said. “Plus, one thing about these guys, [they] have been playing ball all their lives. This is one of the better teams we’ve had at Parkdale, and it’s a good, young team.”
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The Panthers hammered Suitland 28-0 on Thursday, but found themselves in an early hole on Friday, as High Point (6-4) scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-0 lead.
“We kept focusing and we stayed into it,” PHS assistant coach Sheldon Dunbar said. “We told them, ‘Don’t get sidetracked, just stay focused and stay into it.’ That’s how we were able to get the win today.”
The Panthers stormed back in the third inning, scoring five runs to take a 5-3 lead. Their lead was short-lived, though, as High Point scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game.
The Eagles regained the lead in the fourth inning, but the Panthers tied it up at 6-6 as senior catcher/pitcher Eli Deogracia singled to score senior outfielder Vincent “Scooter” Jenkins from third base.
The Panthers had a good opportunity to regain the lead in the top of the sixth inning as they put runners on the corners with no outs, but High Point junior pitcher Leandro Guzman struck out the next three batters he faced to end the threat.
Neither team could push a run across in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
After Nicholas Chapman grounded out to open the inning, Sandoval reached on an infield single. Sandoval stole second with Mike Carter at the plate, and eventually came home on an error by High Point’s shortstop to give Parkdale the lead. After Naja Garcia walked and Mariano Tolentino was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Jenkins flew out and Deogracia drew a walk to score Carter and give the Panthers an 8-6 lead.
Deogracia struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth before yielding a solo home run to Guzman. That was as close as they would get, though, as Deogracia induced Brian Cameron into a groundout to end the game.
“[Guzman] got ahead of the ball before I threw,” Deogracia said, “and he caught it up ahead and carried it out to the outfield. But I just had to shake it off and go for the next one, and that’s what I did.”
The Panthers are scheduled to play at Bowie today, but with more rain in the forecast, that came could join the slew of games postponed this spring.
“I hope [we get it in],” Howze said. “We’re playing at a good speed, and you’d like to keep it going if you can.”