From LBPOSTSports.com: Jordan left fielder Steven Reeves raced down the left-field line, dove to his glove-side and snatched the ball inches from the ground for the final out of the game. He then jumped like it was choreographed and celebrated with a nice hand-shake/chest bump from one of his teammates.
The Panthers had reason to leap in celebration, as they beat a young and talented Poly team, 2-1, at Blair Field on Thursday afternoon. Head coach Marc Prager said after the game that his team was ready for a good battle against the Jackrabbits, which was also their Moore League opener.
“It’s a league game,” he said. “Jordan/Poly, that’s all you have to say. And this is a big win.”
Going back to that catch, Reeves had no business making a game-ending diving catch on a ball that was 15-feet off the foul line and wasn’t hit high to begin with. But the senior was hugging the line thanks to an exaggerated (opposite field) shift which the Panthers used all game against the Jackrabbits. And it worked prolifically because Panthers ace Marcos Lara was outstanding on the hill, pounding the strike zone with a heavy fastball and keeping Jackrabbit hitters honest with a nasty curveball.
Lara, a senior, gave up one unearned run on six hits and struck out seven in seven innings of work yesterday afternoon. He did not walk any hitters and even found ways to escape a few jams in the early going.
“Marcos fell behind early, his pitch count got high but he gets a second wind around the fifth inning,” Prager said. “When he smells that victory he takes over a game. And he was throwing harder and harder as the game went on.”
Click here for the rest of the story by Sergio Ascencio…