Morton made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Mendenhall, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Panthers fell just short of the Tigers by a score of 8-6 on Monday. The loss continues a trend for the Panthers in their meetings with the Tigers: they've now lost six in a row.

Nic Laster
| 02/13/26 vs Scott Central | 3 |
| 03/02/26 @ Mendenhall | 2 |
| 02/28/26 vs Sebastopol | 2 |
| 02/24/26 vs Pelahatchie | 1 |
| 02/17/26 @ Sebastopol | 1 |
Nic Laster put in work no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 14 batters over six innings while giving up three earned (and five unearned) runs off eight hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one RBI. Morton is 2-1 when Laster posts two or more runs, but 1-3-1 otherwise.
In other batting news, Mikey Craig made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 3-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI. That double was his first of the season. Colston Hayman was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one run and one RBI.
Morton now has a losing record of 3-4-1. As for Mendenhall, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 5-2.
While Morton had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps