The Knoxville Softball Squad’s bat started to regain some life Monday night, but it was not enough as the Panthers fell to Cardinal in a battle for 1st place in the South Central Conference 3-2. The Comets plated all of their runs in the 1st inning and held that lead until the bottom of the 6th inning when Knoxville’s Anna Anderson doubled and brought home two runs. A third run was coming home, but Ciara Heffron was tagged out and Anderson was subsequently gunned down trying to take 3rd. After a one, two, three inning in the top of the 7th, Knoxville also went quietly in its half of the 7th. Coach Chris Peden told KNIA/KRLS Sports he was encouraged at how the offense came around.

Peden: “The encouraging part is they came around. Those first couple of innings we didn’t have terrible at bats, the balls were going places, just not the right places.”

Anderson and Charlye Willis had two hits each for Knoxville, while Heffron took the hard luck loss striking out nine Cardinal batters. Knoxville is now 8-8 on the season and will host Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont tonight, a game you can hear on 95.3 KNIA at 7:00.

Meanwhile on the other side of Panther Drive, the baseball squad split with Cardinal winning the first game 11-1 and falling in game two 7-2. In game one, Kyler Gifford breezed through the Comet line up throwing no-hit ball through four innings and only issuing two walks. A highlight of the game was in the 6th inning when Dakota Ramsey launched a three-run shot which was his first career home run. Ramsey went 3/3 with two doubles. In the 2nd game it was tied at two in the 5th inning, before Cardinal plated five runs to break the game open at 7-2. Roston McCarty took the loss. Knoxville is now 8-12 and 5-6 in the South Central Conference. The Panthers also host Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont tonight.