Baseball Game Preview: Pana Panthers vs. Gillespie Miners

Pana is 1-8 against Gillespie since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Panthers will look to defend their home field against the Miners at 4:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Tuesday.

Pana is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by a 14-5 margin over Central A & M on Monday. The Panthers haven't had any issues with the Raiders recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Carder Burris

Hits Against

04/01/25 vs Williamsville	4
03/26/25 vs Sullivan	3
03/24/25 @ Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City	2
04/14/25 vs Central A & M	1
03/18/25 @ Mattoon	1

Carder Burris made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He tossed 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has become a key player for Pana: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most two hits, but 3-4 otherwise. Burris was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.

In other batting news, Pana let Madyx Angel and Easton Malisia run wild. Angel scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3, while Malisia scored three runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. That's the most runs Angel has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Cash Lynch, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3.

Pana always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .583. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

The home team had won the previous six meetings between Gillespie and Vandalia, and Gillespie kept the tradition alive. The Miners blew past the Vandals 7-1 on Friday. The Miners might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won four matchups by six runs or more this season.

Brody Shaw spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on two hits and racked up six Ks.

At the plate, the team relied heavily on Dawson Lancaster, who scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Luke Schuckenbrock, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI.

The victory got Pana back to even at 5-5. As for Gillespie, the win also got them back to even at 5-5.