If there was one small shining light for the Liberty Christian (Redding, Calif.) Patriots in their 25-0 playoff loss to Maxwell (Calif.) last week, it was that they did something no team had done in nearly six games: they got James Bowen to commit an out.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Bowen grounded out to third base, ending a streak of 18 straight hits in official at-bats and a run of 26 successful attempts to reach base. Bowen, a junior who is batting .690 on the season for the 29-2 Panthers, tied the state record for consecutive hits, held by Kyle Skipworth of Patriot. Bowen's 26 times reaching base breaks Skipworth's state record of 25 in a row, set during the 2008 season. Both of Skipworth's state marks are according to the "Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book."
If Bowen felt any pressure to tie the state record, he certainly didn't show it. After walking in his first at-bat against Liberty in a CIF Northern Section Division V playoff game Friday, he hit a triple down the right-field line later in the inning and added a home run to tie Skipworth's record. Bowen walked in the third to break Skipworth's other mark for consecutive times reaching base safely.
"Coach had told me I broke the Northern Section record the other day, but I didn't know about the state record," said Bowen. "So I didn't really feel any pressure. I just stayed focused and looked for anything over the middle of the plate and away." 
Maxwell junior James Bowen is batting .690 for the 29-2 Panthers.
<center>Photo submitted by Jim Zoller</center>
Bowen began the streak with two hits in a 10-7 win over Lindhurst on May 4. He followed with a 3-for-3 effort in a 7-0 victory over Chester on May 6 and then went 8 for 8 in a doubleheader against Westwood on May 7. Bowen was 5 for 5 in the first game (with eight RBI) and 3 for 3 in the second. The Panthers concluded their league season with a 22-1 win over Champion Christian with Bowen going 3 for 3. His two hits against Liberty then tied the record.
Bowen has come into his own this year for the Panthers. Besides leading the Northern Section in batting with a .690 mark, he has also set a section record with nine triples. His 60 hits top the section while his 56 runs scored are second in the section only to teammate Steven Perry, who has 59. His 60 RBI ties teammate Tyler Wells for the section lead in that category as well.
The Panthers are no stranger to baseball success. Winners of Northern Section championships from 2005 to 2007, Maxwell also reached the section final the past two seasons, only to fall in the final inning each time to Fall River.
This year, the Panthers are in the midst of perhaps their finest season under coach Eric Lay, who has turned a program that didn't exist just over 10 years ago into one of the top small-school programs in the section and the state. In the past six seasons alone, Lay's squad is 152-18 and routinely defeats some of the larger schools in the area, including last week's win over Lindhurst, Lay's alma mater. Maxwell boasts an enrollment of around 143 students while the Blazers have an enrollment of 1,368.
Former Panthers also dot the Northern Section record book. Kane Lausten, a 2007 grad, held the section record for career runs with 140, until Perry passed the mark last week. Another 2007 grad, Brandon Ottenwalter, owns section records for career doubles (46), career pitching wins (32), career RBI (149) and season RBI (64). Mitchell Barsotti, a 2008 grad, holds the section record for career walks with 67.
All of those records may be in jeopardy if the Panther junior trio of Bowen, Perry and Wells continue at their current pace. Perry's 147 career runs are already a section record while Wells' 132 career RBI are only 17 short of Ottenwalter's record. Wells also has 24 career wins and 43 career doubles and is on pace to break Ottenwalter's section mark in both of those categories as well. Bowen tied the record for career triples in the Liberty win and will break the mark with his next three-bagger.
With two possible games left in the postseason, the Panthers could also break the state record of 388 runs in a season, set by San Diego in 1949. Maxwell has 363 in 30 games (Maxwell won one game by forfeit.) The Panthers play Chester, which handed Maxwell one of its two losses this season, in the second game of the year, on Tuesday in the second round of the playoffs. A win would put Maxwell into the section finals for the seventh year in a row.
