Newberry, Florida – The Newberry Panthers secured an impressive 8-1 victory against the Gainesville Hurricanes on Tuesday, bouncing back from a two-game losing streak that marked the end of their previous week. The Panthers’ solid performance on both offense and defense set the tone for a successful outing.
In a defensive start, the Panthers and the Hurricanes remained scoreless in the first inning. Newberry, with a record of 13-3, managed to get a runner on base with a double by Braxton Brady, but Gainesville (5-8) held strong and struck out the subsequent batters to end the inning. Desmond Taylor’s pitching prowess allowed only one hit in the early innings, leading to a scoreless first inning for the Hurricanes.
The Panthers heated up the bats in the second inning with Josh Morison hitting a solo home run, setting the tone for their offensive performance. Followed by a deep triple by Taylor and an RBI single from Trey Priester, Newberry extended their lead to 3-0 early in the game, putting pressure on Gainesville to catch up.
Taylor continued to dominate on the mound, recording six strikeouts throughout the game. With support from Morison’s RBI groundout in the third inning, Newberry maintained their lead, despite allowing Gainesville to score one run, making it 4-1 going into the fifth inning.
As the game progressed, Morison continued his impressive hitting display with an RBI double, further solidifying the Panthers’ lead. A pitching change to Brady in the sixth inning did not slow down Newberry, with Brady recording three crucial strikeouts to maintain their lead.
Taking control of the game, Newberry scored two more runs in the seventh inning to seal their 8-1 victory over Gainesville. Looking ahead, Newberry will face the Lafayette Hornets (12-1) at home, while Gainesville is set to take on the Eastside Rams (2-11) in their upcoming matchups.