PANTHERS TAKE TWO FROM CATSKILL ON THE DIAMOND

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor

04-16-09 - Chatham traveled to Catskill on Monday for a doubleheader and brought home two victories. In Game One, the Panthers took a hard fought 7-3 win before blowing out the Cats 23-3 in the second game.

In Game One, Brian Gauthier did the talking with his arm, throwing five innings, striking out ten, walking three, and not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. "He was in total command today, getting ahead of batters and dominating the bottom of the strike zone," said Panthers coach Scott Steltz via email.

Cody Portin drove in two runs with a two-out double in the second inning to help the Panthers to the win. Cole Gleason went 2-3 with 2 RBIs, while Mike Sirani picked up a run, an RBI, and a pair of stolen bases. "We had good at bats and were patient and played good defense behind Brian," said Steltz. "He worked quickly and got ahead of batters, and I think it helped keep us on our toes defensively."

In Game Two, the Cats jumped out to a quick two-run lead in the top of the first, but the Panthers responded with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the opening stanza. Ryen Boehme drove home Parker Niles, while Sirani plated two more with a hit of his own. Portin finished off the scoring driving in two more runs with a double in the first.

Chatham put the game away in the bottom of the second inning when they send 14 hitters to the plate and scored 9 runs. Gauthier picked up two hits in the inning, a single and a three-run home run, while Boehme also collected two hits in the inning. Parker Niles collected two RBIs in the second.

When all was said and done, Niles finished 3-5 with four runs scored and four RBIs. Gauthier went 3-4 with four runs and 5 RBIs, and Boehme went 3-6 with two runs and two RBIs. Sirani added a trio of hits to go along with his two runs and two RBIs.

The Panthers totaled 18 hits, including five doubles and a home run. "I attribute most of it to being patient and looking for pitches we can drive not just hit," said Steltz. "Cody [Portin] did a real good job of shutting them down after the first inning and that shows his mental toughness." On the mound Portin threw five innings allowing six hits and one walk while striking out five. Nick Faxon threw two innings of scoreless relief work.

Chatham improves to 5-0 on the season and will face off with Schuylerville on Wednesday in a nonleague matchup in Schuylerville.