An opening at-bat triple for Pella Christian set the tone early as they poured on the Panthers’ pitchers in an 11-3 non-conference baseball win in Knoxville, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS Thursday.

The Eagles would score four runs in the first inning and add scores in five of seven innings to keep the pressure on the home team. Pella Christian had six of nine batters tally multiple hits, which was more than enough support for winning pitcher Bennett Spronk, who struck out five in four innings and gave up just one unearned run.

It’s five wins in seven contests for the Eagles–with both losses coming by just one run each to LHC-leader Norwalk, and Head Coach Braden Shull is excited with how much progress the team has made after a 1-10 start to the summer.

The Panthers tallied 10 hits of their own, including a two-run double by 8th grader Colby Higginbotham in the final at bat, but lost two baserunners to Eagles defensive plays after hits and stranded nine others.

Pella Christian improves to 6-12 overall and heads to Indianola to begin the second half of the Little Hawkeye Conference season tonight, while Knoxville falls to 8-11 overall and welcomes Davis County to Panther Drive this evening.