Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The Panthers let a late five-run lead slip away against Windsor on Friday afternoon, falling 8-6 in non-conference softball.

The visiting Jaguars battled for all seven innings, scoring seven runs over the final two to take the come-from-behind victory and improve to 3-4 on the season.

The Panthers, who committed six errors in the loss, dropped to 4-2.

“We definitely had opportunities to shut them down, and we made some costly errors to keep us from holding on for the win,” McKinleyville head coach Shanna McCracken said. 

Senior McKennah Sargent had a good day for the home team, both at the plate and in the circle.

Sargent had the hot bat for the Panthers and finished 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and a run.

In the circle, she did not give up any earned runs, allowing seven hits and four walks while striking out seven.

Cabella Carper, Jacey Parker and Liana Stumpf each also doubled for the McKinleyville girls, with Carper scoring twice and Stumpf driving in two runs.

Olivia Murphy, Ashton Rodriguez and Avery Bartoo each also had a hit in the loss.

Sophomore Haeli Bruno led the Jaguars at the plate and finished 2-for-4 with three runs, while senior Paige Johnson pitched a complete game for the win in the circle, giving up two earned runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out one.

The Jaguars also struggled a little defensively and committed four errors.

The Windsor girls will complete a two-day trip to the North Coast with a game at Fortuna on Saturday morning at 10, while the Panthers will close out their pre-conference schedule with a game at Eureka on Wednesday, before opening the Big 5 a week later at home against Fortuna.