Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 A couple of inches of snow in the outfield wasn't going to be enough to prevent opening day for the Neosho County baseball team.  As the temperatures rose and the snow melted throughout the day, the Panther bats started the season hot, beating Ottawa 11-5 and 13-3 in the season opening games.
The first game saw Ottawa jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st inning off of Neosho starter Cody Hutchinson.  Neosho answered with 2 in the bottom half of the first to take a 2-1 lead, and scored in every single one of their offensive innings to eventually pull away for the 11-5 victory.  Hutchinson picked up the win on the mound for the Panthers, going 4.2 innings, giving up 2 earned runs and striking out 9 Braves hitters.  Brandon Martinkus squashed a late rally to pick up the save.  Offensively Neosho was led by sophomore Connor Goedert, who had 3 hits including 2 home runs and a double.  He also drove in 5 runs.  Craig Johnson added 3 hits of his own, and Colton Crocker and Justin Warne each added 2 hits apiece.
Neosho jumped out to a big lead early in game two, and never looked back.  The offensive outburst was highlighted by a big 6 run 4th inning, where the Panthers sent 10 men to the plate and racked up 4 walks and 4 hits.  Connor Goedert went 3 for 4 in the second game with 3 RBI's, and Justin Warne drove in 3 runs as well.  Newcomer Andy Young added 2 hits and drove in 2 runs of his own.  Freshman Nathan Whitcomb threw a complete game striking out 4 in the winning effort.
The Panthers take the field again on Saturday and Sunday with double headers each day against the Iowa Central Tritons.  Both days games start at 1:00 P.M. at Hudson Field.