The Neosho County Panthers opened up conference play this afternoon against the Red Devils from Allen County. The Red Devils came into the contest with a record of 7-6 on the year. Although the wind was blowing 10-15 MPH from the WNW it was a beautiful day out at Hudson Field. This great day would quickly turn into a disappointing loss for the Panthers as they fell to the Red Devils 13-11 in seven complete innings.

Sophomore pitcher Josh Flack took the mound for the Panthers in game one of conference play. Unfortunately for Flack and the Panthers, there was a lot of sloppy play in this opening game. The Panthers had several mistakes in all facets of the game. Flack was not sharp and struggled to get ahead of opposing hitters. The defense struggled and ended up with six errors in the field. Neosho County hit well compiling 13 runs on 20 hits; however, they were also over aggressive on the base paths and were thrown out trying to advance on multiple occasions. Despite all of these mistakes, the Panthers found themselves with a 11-9 lead going into the top of the 6th inning. This lead would not last long as the Red Devils would plate four in the top of the 6th. The Panthers ended up falling to the Red Devils 13-11 in seven complete innings. Tyler McQuinn and Brett Wiemers both made appearances on the mound for the Panthers. Connor Jeffers (3), Andrew Brautman (5), Drew Miller (2), Khalil Thrasher (2), Mason Lungdrin (2), Luke Burk (2), Chaseton Wylie (2), and Chase Curtis (2) all compiled hits for Neosho County in the loss. This defeat brings the Panthers record to 8-4 on the year and 0-1 in conference. Neosho County will look to rebound from this loss in game two of the series.

The Panthers will be back in action on Saturday, March 7th for more action against Allen County in Iola, Kansas. Game two of the series was started but not completed. The Panthers ran out of daylight to get the scheduled nine inning game completed. With this in mind, the game will resume in the top of the 8th inning with the Red Devils leading the Panthers 12-10. This game will begin at 12:00 PM. Game three of the series is scheduled to start twenty minutes after the conclusion of game two.Game four is scheduled to start twenty five minutes after the conclusion of game three.