From the first pitch until the final out, the spotlight rested clearly on Engel, whose fastball hummed throughout a quick top of the first inning that included strikeouts of all three Ignacio batters.
Not content to merely mow through Ignacio’s lineup, Engel stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first inning against Ignacio starting pitcher Zach Weinrich and drilled a towering drive that one hopped over the center-field wall near the 400-foot marker and plated two runs.
“That was one of my best hits, maybe the best hit of my career,” Engel said. “(Weinrich) threw me a couple of balls, and (Cutter Matthews) was relaying his pitches to me (from second base). (Weinrich) threw a fastball right in my wheel house.”
By the time the top of the fifth inning arrived, Engel had retired 12 straight Ignacio batters and a perfect game appeared within reach. Ignacio sophomore Rendon Maestas grounded a ball just past Panthers’ shortstop Cutter Matthews and into left field however, to end Engel’s no-hit bid.
“It was the last home game for the seniors and Coby (Baer) has caught me the last couple of years, so I just wanted to pitch good for him,” Engel said. “We had a lot of good plays on defense and a lot of credit goes to my teammates.”
With the Panthers leading 9-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Baer doubled with two outs and Engel singled him home with a sinking drive that dropped just in front of Ignacio’s charging outfielder and ended the game.
In addition to Engel’s 3 RBIs, the Panthers received RBIs from Briggs Durbin, Cutter Matthews and Cordell Baer. Durbin and Matthews each had two hits and two stolen bases for the Panthers.
“We were able to make contact with the ball,” Durbin said. “Once I got on the base paths, I was able to steal a couple of bases. I was just trying to get points for the team.”
M-CHS’s win followed a 3-2 road loss to Ignacio on April 27 in a game that several players admitted they let get away After the game, Panthers manager Tim Passell credited Engel and his team’s seniors for the bounce back performance while suggesting that his team’s victory over Ignacio was especially sweet.
“We came in focused because we owed (Ignacio) this win,” Passell said. “We always feed of Jasen on the hill, and if he’s pitching well, we come out firing.”
Now 10-9 overall and 7-3 in the West Slope League, M-CHS’s playoff fate will depend on state seeding that will be released later in the week. According to Passell, the Panthers will play at least one playoff game at a location that has yet to be determined.
“Beating Ignacio was a fun way to end the regular season,” Passell said. “Our seniors were motivated and we pushed it with those guys and we enjoyed it. As far as the playoffs, we’ll just wait and see what happens.”