Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSpoprts.com – The McKinleyville Panthers improved to 8-1 in the Big 5 with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday.
Jackson Kelly threw a no-hitter for the second time in three weekends as the McKinleyville Panthers moved four wins clear of the chasing pack in Big 5 baseball with a doubleheader sweep over the Del Norte Warriors at Mack High on Saturday.
The Panthers overcame slow starts in both games on the way to winning 7-1 and 3-1 and improved to 8-1 in conference with three games remaining.
The Eureka Loggers, however, remain right in the mix for a conference title, having played three games fewer.
The Loggers had a bye in conference this week and are 4-2, just one game back in the loss column, so there’s still plenty to play for.
On Saturday, however, the Panthers continued to take care of business, overcoming early one-run deficits in both games.
“We didn’t hit the ball like we have been doing, but the kids battled through it,” McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. “But I’ve got to give Del Norte credit, they made us work for it today. For the first three innings in both games they had us baffled.”
The McKinleyville pitching kept them in both games early, especially Kelly, before the bats started to heat up.
“Jackson’s been throwing great lately,” Dobrec said of Kelly, who had five strikeouts. “He worked ahead and he’s just been pitching really well. He’s using all three pitches and hitting his spots. He’s out there dealing for us.”
Branson Dobrec pitched six innings for the win in game one, giving up seven hits and striking out three before Joe Tanno came in to close the game out.
The Panthers also enjoyed some balanced offense.
In game one, Tenoch Tapia led the way at the plate and went 2-for-3 with a key two-RBI hit in the fifth, while Branson Dobrec was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Kelly, Bryce Sargent and Kolbey Stolpe each also had a hit in the win, while Hunter Carper added an RBI.
In game two, Sargent, Tapia, Branson Dobrec, Riles Egbert and Evan Fraser each had a hit.
In addition to his strong pitching, Branson Dobrec had a big RBI hit in both games, including a double in the bottom of the fourth inning of game two to tie the game 1-1.
Stolpe added a two-RBI single in the fifth to put the home team up 3-1.
Del Norte had six errors in game one, which obviously didn’t help matters.
They created opportunities but stranded eight runners on base.
Hunter Wells led them at the plate and finished 3-for-3 in that loss.
“We had a chance in both games,” head coach Jeff Cook said.
They were in game two until the final out, with freshman pitcher Landon Williams pitching a great game to give his team a chance against the conference leaders.
Categories: baseball, Del Norte, McKinleyville
This article is not correct as Del Norte shortstop Preston Daniels hit a single untouched down the third base line in the fourth inning. This hit was unjustly changed by “McKinleyville staff” to give McKinleyville third baseman Kolby Stolpe an error on the play thereby taking the deserved hit away from Daniels just so it could be said that Jackson Kelly pitched a no hitter. Humboldtsports.com was given wrong information about this game. I was there and saw the play and so were many others. It is real sad that people would be less than honest just to pad stats or get a headline.
I was also at the game. I’m sure this play could have been scored both ways by both teams. We can all agree that Stolpe makes that play 99 out of 100 times, it went right under his glove. You could tell by his reaction that he new he should have made the play. I’m assuming from your side, you are saying it’s a hit because it didn’t touch his glove, and I can see your point on that as well. You even see 50/50 calls in the majors scored as errors during a no-hitter. At the end of the day, Del Norte can give Preston a hit on MaxPreps (which I would have done if it was my batter), and Mack can call it an error (which I would have done if it was my pitcher). Scoring isn’t always going to be consistent. Everybody has their own team stats, and those are what will matter to these young players, now and as they look back on their careers 20 or 30 years from now. Who knows, maybe Jackson and Preston will become great friends in the future, and they will laugh about this story for years to come. LOL. I used to keep the book a lot when my kids were playing for Mack, and I’ve seen articles written up that didn’t match up with what I saw happen during the game. I remember a headline that read something about a homerun by the other team, and I had scored it a single and a 3 base error on our center fielder. I didn’t comment on the article though. I just let it go, because even though I saw it differently, I figured it was a close enough play to be called either way, and why would they not score it in favor of their player. This was just 1 example, there would often be games where one or both team’s hit totals didn’t match up with my hit total. The only reason this was brought up was because it was the only “potential” hit of the game, and the no-hitter is in the spotlight. I don’t think that anybody should be accused of being “less than honest” because they scored a 50/50 call differently than you did. That’s kind of harsh. Difference of opinion on the call is fine, but nobody’s character should be attacked over a 50/50 call. I definitely don’t think anything should be taken away from Jackson’s great performance on the mound.
Preston daniels hit definitely was a hit for sure the ball didn’t even touch the glove in my opinion it was a one hitter!
Errors aren’t based on if a player can make a play or not. From your point of view everyone gets a trophy. We can all score it how we want to? Call it a no no and a hit? That’s not how it works. At no point did the ball touch the glove. I feel bad for Stolpe because he got charged with an error that he shouldn’t have. Truth is that Mack coaching staff initially ruled it as a hit then told their stat guy to change it after. Now who’s being “less than honest?” No one is trying to be harsh, just pointing out what really happened. Congrats on a heck of a pitched game by Jaxon. He’s a stud. Not trying to take anything away from his great performance on the bump.
Steve, you do realize the ball doesn’t have to hit the glove for it to be an error, right?
Yes, I do. If the ball gets by an average defender it’s considered a hit. Stolpe is an elite defender.
Jackson Kelly is arguably the best pitcher on the Mack roster. He has great stuff. He always gives everything he has on every play. That being said, a no no did take place in the game but it happened outside the lines !
Congratulations on the sweep boys