Centralia baseball had its ultimate high so far this season on Friday.

The Panthers came from behind to win 7-4 at Class 6 Battle (3-2) in extra innings but then had to play its Clarence Cannon Conference opener on Monday at home. They lost 8-1 to Clark County (3-3) for their first loss of the season.

Centralia (4-1) walked 11 hitters while striking out 10 times. Head coach Mike Rodgers said the three pitchers that took the mound for him struggled against a Clark County team that executed a solid game plan.

Centralia vs Clark County Photo Gallery

“We went out there and were having some footing issues on our own mound,” Rodgers said. “The strike zone, we didn’t get adjusted too quick enough. You’re not going to win many baseball games, especially in the CCC with 11 walks.”

Clark County put multiple runners on in the first two innings before scoring four runs in the third inning. No run scored in that inning on a hit as runners crossed on a forceout, two walks and a passed ball. 

Rodgers said starting pitcher Luke Waltemate was “all around the zone knee-high to thigh-high,” but Clark County looked for the high strikes and hit them. Clark County starter Bennett Plenge struck out seven and allowed one earned run on five hits and three walks, showing Centralia hit fastball high early before enticing hitters to swing over the top of his curveball later.

“He attacked the top of the zone with good velocity,” Rodgers said. “He was able to, every once in a while, change his timing up on the mound to get to the plate a little bit quicker and have our guys off-balance the whole game. When you throw those high fastballs and you follow with those curveballs, they look like fastballs and we’re out in front diving at it.”

Ian Arellano finished 3-for-3 with one RBI in the sixth inning to lead the Centralia offense. Cooper Gehring had a double, and Chase Chancellor walked twice. 

Arellano is a senior who had made his first appearance this season and filled in as the designated hitter while Centralia was dealing with sickness in its dugout. Middle-of-the-order bat and lefty pitcher Chase Kempker, who pitched six shutout innings of relief at Battle, was out sick on Monday. Rodgers said the Panthers just couldn’t mount the offensive momentum around Arellano like they have had in their first four games. 

“When you come off a big win against a Class 6 school on a Friday night and you have to turn around over the weekend to play our first conference game on a Monday, that’s tough,” Rodgers said. “This is what they call a trap game. We’re riding high and then we get humbled a little bit.”

In the Battle game, Centralia was down 4-2 after the second inning until tying the game in the seventh inning to send the game to extras. Freshman Oliver Bohlmeyer had a leadoff triple in the seventh, and he and Hank Lee had key hits to score runs in the eighth inning. Bohlmeyer finished 4-for-4 with a triple, double and a highlight defensive play in the outfield.

“He also made a huge play in the bottom of the seventh,” Rodgers said. “Tyler Putnam hits a deep ball to right that he thought was leaving and Oliver Bohlmeyer makes a diving play on the warning track to keep us in the game. That game, we had big plays. This game tonight, Clark County had the big plays.”