BASEBALL: Jr. Panthers' bats quiet in loss to Murphysboro

Murphysboro held the Junior Panthers to just three hits on Tuesday and handed Pinckneyville Junior High School a 4-1 defeat at Rigdon Field in the Perry County Fairgrounds.

An RBI single by Trenton Shepard, who finished the game with three hits, put Murphysboro in the lead to stay in the top of the first inning.

PJHS trailed 2-0 until a bases-loaded walk to Dawson Yates in the sixth brought home Dalton Kitchen, who reached base with a single. Despite still having the sacks full with nobody out after that, however, Pinckneyville failed to do any further damage.

The Junior Panthers stranded another base runner in the seventh, in addition to having one erased by a 6-4-3 double play.

Kitchen (1-4), Hunter Riggins (1-3, BB) and Reid Keene (1-3, BB) had PJHS's hits. Yates tossed a complete game on the mound and allowed nine hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

PJHS hosts Pinckneyville District #204 on Thursday.