Baseball Recap: Centralia Sets Scoring Season-High Against Highland

Panthers

Team Score (Highest)

04/08/25 @ Highland	17
03/22/25 @ Marceline	16
03/25/25 @ Bowling Green	11
03/31/25 @ Clark County	10
03/22/25 vs Harrisburg	10

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Centralia). Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Highland Cougars a 17-0 shutout on Tuesday. With that victory, the Panthers brought their scoring average up to 6.8 runs per game.

Quinn Eckler looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit over four innings pitched. He also tossed no earned runs, which is notable because Centralia is undefeated when he allows at most three earned runs, but 3-4 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Centralia got a massive performance out of Anthony Ford, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. Ford is becoming a predictor of the Panthers' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 3-4 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Luke Waltemate, who went 1-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI.

Centralia kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post 11 or more hits.

Centralia's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-4. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.7 runs over those games. As for Highland, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 0-5.

Looking ahead, Centralia will challenge South Shelby at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. As for Highland, they will face off against Clark County at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.