Panthers aim for Series crown

By Dustin Kent

Published: July 16, 2008

The Panhandle Panthers 12U squad will look for redemption this weekend in the Dizzy Dean World Series in Moody, Ala. — and hopefully a championship in the process.

The Panthers, who finished runner-up in state to Northwest St. Petersburg, begins World Series play Saturday, though the team’s opponent won’t be known until the brackets are released.

A heartbreaking 3-1defeat kept a state championship from the Panthers’ grasp.

The Panthers surrendered just one hit in the title-game loss.

Unfortunately, that hit was a three-run, fifth-inning home run by Northwest St. Petersburg that erased a 1-0 Panhandle lead.

Panthers coach Allen Childs said that if his team is to bring home a World Series title, it will likely face the same obstacle it did in the state tournament.

“Northwest had four kids as good as any 12-year-old I’ve ever seen,” Childs said. “I don’t think any team will have four the caliber they’ve got. They’re big kids, very athletic, all four are pitchers with great bats.

“If we can stay away from them early, then I’m looking forward to us matching up with them (for the title).”

The Panthers nearly didn’t even qualify for the World Series, as the team had to win four straight games to advance to the title round after losing its first two games of the tourney.

But the team rallied with its back against the wall, the Panthers’ coach not being the least bit surprised.

“This team, you could never could say they’re out of it because they’re always fighting, digging, trying to find a way to win,” Childs said. “I had total confidence when we lost the first two that we were capable of coming back and winning the title.”

Still, the fact that the Panthers dropped those two games against teams they would later beat handily is no small concern for Childs.

“You want to think that we were nervous, but the kids didn’t act that way,” the coach said. “We just didn’t show up to play. The teams that beat us, we turned around and beat them by six and eight runs.

“We just have to show up to play when the first pitch is thrown. We can’t wait around until the third or fourth innings to get started. We have to hit somebody in mouth from the first at-bat.”

Whether it be the first at-bat or the last, Childs said he hopes the Panthers’ trips to the plate in the World Series are more fruitful than they were in the state tournament.

The Panthers struggled to find their offense throughout the tournament, but will need to do so if they have plans for a World Series title.

“Our pitching and fielding have been pretty much what has carried us,” Childs said. “We have not gotten our bats going. We have to hit to have a chance at the World Series. Just getting three or four hits is not going to get it done. We can’t just rely on pitching.”

Childs said he can’t say for sure what the problem with the Panhandle offense has been.

“Our bats just haven’t woken up yet,” he said. “I really can’t say that we saw great pitching (in the state tournament), it was not better than what we’ve seen before. As a team, just not hitting very well.”

Perhaps the two weeks the team has had off since the state tournament has allowed the Panthers to regroup and regain their offensive spark.

Childs said he hopes that is the case.

“Sometimes a break is really good,” he said. “These kids have been playing since February and I was starting to sense that they might be fatigued, maybe burned out a little. But we had some really good days of practice this week and last week. We’ve gotten some rest and I hope we get it going.”

Childs said that he planned on starting Dillon Bennett on the mound Saturday, with the typical rotation of Hunter Jordan and Caleb Alexander to follow.

“Those first three will be the horses that we’ve got to ride to get through it,” Childs said. “They’ve carried us this far. Caleb pitched four great innings and gave up only two hits and one earned run (in the third game of the state tournament with the Panthers facing elimination). If we can get that kind of performance from him in the World Series, that will give us a good chance to be successful.”

If the Panthers’ strong pitching continues and they can get the bats going again, Childs said he believes his team can make a major run at a World Series title.

However, the coach said nothing is being taken for granted.

“I coach with total confidence,” Childs said. “I never take the approach that we just have to stay close and hope we get a chance to win late. I don’t coach that way. We prepare with the approach that we’re going to win every game.

“We try to stay confident, but not arrogant. There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. We’re going to be confident, but not cocky.”