The McKinleyville Panthers played their third game in a week against University Prep in Friday’s Foothill baseball tournament opener, and they beat the U-Prep boys for the third time in a week.

After racking up 22 runs against them in a doubleheader sweep last Saturday, the Mack bats continued to pound the ball at Foothill in a 12-2 win.

The Panthers have now scored 34 runs in their opening three games.

More importantly, however, the McKinleyville defense was far more effective on Friday.

“We swung the bats well and we played defense today, so it was good to see,” McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. “We played a lot better than last time.”

Kolbey Stolpe provided the highlight of the day with a grand slam and he finished 3-for-4 at the plate with six RBIs.

Bryce Sargent also continued to impress on offense and was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Hunter Carper finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

“Kolbey is hitting the ball pretty well, him and Bryce and Hunter,” Dobrec said. “The whole team is hitting the ball well.”

Riles Egbert also had an impact at the plate and was 1-for-1 with a double, while Rhythm Green finished 1-for-2 to keep his impressive start to the new season going.

Green also got the win on the mound.

The sophomore pitcher got the start and threw four scoreless innings, while striking out two.

The 3-0 Panthers will continue tournament play on Saturday.

They play Las Plumas at 11:30 a.m. and Red Bluff at 2 p.m.