Amory Panthers force decisive Game 3 with 8-5 win over St. Stanislaus at MHSAA Class 3A Championship

PEARL — The entire town of Amory has been dealt some body blows this season, so you’ll have to forgive the Panthers if they didn’t fold following a loss in Game 1 of the MHSAA Class 3A Championship Baseball Series.

Coach Chris Pace’s bunch erased the bad taste of that 7-3 Tuesday loss with an 8-5 win over St. Stanislaus in Thursday’s Game 2, forcing a pivotal Game 3 for 1 p.m. Saturday.

“We’ve been through a lot this season,” Pace said. “And through it all, our guys haven’t shown any sign of quitting. I just hope we can make it through the last seven innings — or however many it takes — and finish this thing Saturday.”

The Panthers (31-5) showed the same resolve that helped the town recover after a devastating EF-3 tornado that destroyed the baseball field back on March 24, pounding out 13 hits and scoring eight runs Thursday.

Senior Walker Maranto had two singles and an RBI, and sophomore Braden Maranto had a double, two singles and an RBI. Bryce Glenn, Tyler Sledge, and Corbin Gillentine all drove in runs. Left fielder Cayden Smith had a double, two singles and three RBIs.

“The main mistakes we made Tuesday was all the walks,” Smith said. “We didn’t make a bunch of errors or anything, so we just needed to play well and eliminate the free passes. But we also had much better at-bats today and it showed up (on the scoreboard).”

Glenn drew the start and worked all seven innings for Amory. The senior allowed five runs, all earned, on seven hits and five walks with six strikeouts.

Saint Stanislaus (23-13) couldn’t limit the damage with runners in scoring position the way they did in Game 1. Hugh LeMasters drew the start and lasted four innings, giving up five runs on 11 hits without issuing a walk. Reliever Tate Murphy gave up three runs in his 1.1 innings of work.

Kyle Stegall went 2-for-4 with a double and drove in a pair of runs, and Chesley Rhodes hit the first home run of any championship series with a seventh-inning solo shot over the left-center wall.