The Knoxville Baseball Squad lost its season opener on Friday to Saydel 6-1 in a game heard live on 95.3 KNIA. The Panthers fell into a hole they could not dig out of when the Eagles seemed to nickel and dime their way to a 6-0 lead by the 5th inning. Knoxville’s lone run was a sacrifice fly by Dakota Ramsey in the 6th inning, and had two runners on in the 7th, but could not get them home. That was a theme as The Panthers, while limited to three hits, were issued five walks by Saydel pitching but got none of them home. While the outcome was not what Coach Turner Devore desired, he saw several bright spots in his young team.

Devore: “I thought we had some bright spots that the coaches and I can let the kids know about and some things we need to work on. I thought we got more comfortable at the plate as the game went on so that’s something I liked.”

Lincoln Norris took the loss going 3 2/3 innings allowing five runs on four hits and seven strikeouts. Trey Wight pitched the final 3 1/3 innings in relief. Norris led the Panthers at the plate going 2/2 with a walk. Knoxville is 0-1 and will travel to Oskaloosa for a double header on Tuesday.