DEARBORN – North Platte (5-1) entered the spring with high expectations on the baseball field and the Panthers are officially off to their best start in more than 15 years.
Through six games, North Platte has produced 76 runs, and its only loss is against a Class 4 opponent. Starting the spring with a victory is rare for the Panthers, who hadn’t won their season opener since 2018 prior to beating Maysville (2-3) in the North Platte Triangular on March 16.
North Platte had 10 hits in the season opener, winning 8-0. Colton Kirkham threw a no-hitter through three innings, had seven strikeouts, three hits and one RBI.
The Panthers were unable to move to 2-0 as they met up with University Academy Charter (3-0) and losing 13-2 in the other game of the triangular. Jaxson Carpenter was responsible for both runs, scoring on a passed ball in the first inning and having an RBI triple in the fourth inning.
North Platte bounced back with three straight double-digit margins of victories, starting with a 14-4 triumph over South Nodaway (1-1) on March 18. The Panthers scored the first 10 runs and Benjamin Jaycox led the offense with three hits and three RBIs.
North Platte kept the dominant play going the next day, beating North Andrew (0-2) on March 19, which ended up being the first of two straight wins by 15 runs. The Panthers scored 17 runs on six hits – taking advantage of the 10 Cardinal errors and six walks – and only allowed two runs as Hunter Palmer struck out six batters in three innings.
North Platte beat East Buchanan (0-3) for the first time since 2017, snapping a seven-game losing skid against the KCI Conference rival on March 21. It wasn’t only a big conference win, but also a dominating one by a score of 23-8.
East Buchanan scored the first two runs – giving North Platte its only deficit among games it ended up winning – before the home team responded with six runs in two consecutive innings. The Panthers had 12 hits in that timeframe and added 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving them 21 total hits.
Carpenter struck out six batters in three innings and Chance Garber led the offense with four hits and five RBIs. Creek Johnson, Ryan York and Dylan Armstrong all had three hits.
North Platte won its fourth straight game with a 12-3 win over Pattonsburg (2-2) on March 25. Johnson had three hits on offense and seven strikeouts on defense, one less than Palmer as they both pitched three innings.
The Panthers had 14 hits on the night, giving them 62 hits this far into the season. They will look to keep that going when they head to Lawson (6-1) to try and defeat the Cardinals for the first time in over 15 years.