NEW PHILADELPHIA Dark clouds filled the sky over the baseball diamond Tuesday evening at Tuscora Park.
Despite ominous threats of thunderstorms, the storm danced around the diamond, allowing the Tuscarawas County Panthers and the Coshocton Cherokees to battle without precipitation.
Rain didn’t hit the Panthers, however Coshocton batters often did hit Panthers pitchers in the first two innings en route to a 5-1 victory in Game One of an American Legion baseball doubleheader.
Game Two was not complete at press time.
Coshocton wasted no time putting bat-to-ball as lead-off hitter Braden Russell singled on the game's first pitch. After a pop out, Andrew Mason doubled to give the Cherokees runners on first and third. Ryan Rider singled home Russell and Mason to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage. Zach Crown then drove Rider in during the very next at bat, giving them a 3-0 lead after one inning of play.
Tuscarawas County went three up, three down in its first at bat.
After the lead-off man reached on an error in the top of the second inning, the next batter was walked and the Cherokees were back in business. Blaze Clark scored on an infield single by Russell, followed by a sacrifice fly by Devin Ryan and Coshocton had a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second.
That was all Kiowa Looney needed to pick up the pitching victory.
The Panthers got their first hit in the second inning, but could do nothing with it as they couldn't get him into scoring position.
Panther pitcher Ethan Love settled down in the third and retired 15 of the last 16 Coshocton hitters he faced.
Tuscarawas County got its first runner into scoring position when Keaton Hall doubled to lead off the home half of the third. However, three ground outs quickly ended the threat.
The Panthers' Seth Johnson singled to lead off the fourth, and cashed in when London Detweiler hit a sacrifice fly to score Johnson, cutting the lead to 5-1 after four innings of play.
Neither team threatened again until the bottom half of the seventh inning.
A lead-off single by Detweiler, followed by a single by Layne Perks put Panthers on first and second with nobody out. Hall then flied out and Detweiler advanced to third. Two consecutive strikeouts ended the threat and the game for the Panthers.