Panthers Leave Horns Blowin’ in the Wind
Blustery conditions led to some eye-popping offensive numbers during Hillcrest’s wild 28-18 victory over rival W.T. White on Friday at Shepherd Field.
The Panthers (11-5, 2-0) scored 13 runs in the top of the seventh inning as part of a remarkable rally from a late 18-12 deficit, with J.P. Paternina’s home run keying a 22-hit onslaught.
Hillcrest led 11-2 in the fourth inning before the Longhorns (7-8, 0-2) staged a furious rally of their own with 11 tallies in the bottom of the fifth. The teams combined for 46 runs, 37 hits, and eight errors (seven by Hillcrest).
Paternina’s four hits — all for extra bases — and seven runs batted in led the Panthers, who also got three hits apiece from Angel Jimenez, Aidan Martinez, Lincoln Hunter, and James Brown. Joshua Pepper scored three runs and was the winning pitcher in relief.
Hillcrest completed a sweep of WTW to open District 13-5A play after also taking the district opener 11-4 on March 11.
