Latta gets upper hand in Class A District

Jeff Cali, The Ada News, Okla.
·2 min read

Sep. 25—LATTA — The 14th-ranked Latta Panthers snagged a pair of victories in Class A District baseball action Thursday at Panther Park.

Coach Dillon Atkinson's squad defeated Verden 20-1 in the opener before knocking off No. 17 Amber-Pocasset 9-5 in a winner's bracket contest.

Latta, which improved to 13-9 on the year, needed one more win on Friday to wrap up a district crown.

Game 1

Latta 20, Verden 1

The Panthers finished with 12 hits in the five-inning run-rule victory.

Tucker Abney went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, five RBIs and four runs scored, while Cooper Hamilton finished 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run, a double, six RBIs and two runs scored.

Carson Abbott finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored, while Kaleb Goodwin went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Justin Kiker finished 1-for-2 with two walks, a double and three RBIs, while leadoff hitter Kale Williams went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored.

Rylon Tallent paced a five-hit Verden offense, going 2-for-2, while Cooper Hughes went 2-for-3 and scored a run.

LHS pitchers Jake LaMack and Nik Schroeder combined to allow just one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts and no walks in five innings.

Jaxon Jiminez was the losing pitcher for the Tigers. He struck out three and walked six in 4.1 innings.

Game 2

Latta 9, Am-Po 4

The Panthers raced to a 9-0 lead before Amber-Pocasset scored four times in the top of the seventh inning.

Cooper Hamilton bashed a grand slam in a five-run LHS fifth inning to give Latta some breathing room.

Kale Williams led an eight-hit Latta offense, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored from the top of the LHS lineup. Tucker Abney finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Jackson Presley went 1-for-3 with an RBI, a walk, a double and two runs scored. Nik Schroeder finished 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored for the home team.

No. 6 led Amber-Pocasset, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a walk and a run scored. No. 3 finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while No. 1 went 2-for-3 with one walk and one RBI. No. 5 also went 2-for-4 and drove in a run.

LHS senior J.T. Gray picked up the mound win. He struck out eight, walked five, hit a batter and allowed just one earned run in six innings.

No. 5 was the losing pitcher for Am-Po. He struck out nine, walked five and hit a batter in six innings.