Panther Baseball Takes One in Double Header Season Finale Against Rhode Island College

Friday, May 1^st marked the end of not only four senior careers at PSU, but it was also the last game of Coach McManus’ astounding 31-year run as the Panthers’ head coach. He received a total of 506 wins in his time here. Going into Friday, the Panthers already knew that their playoff hopes were not going to be a reality this season as they fell just short of making it.

The first game was a great fight for starting pitcher senior Cody Gilchrist (Tyngsboro, MA). He went seven strong innings letting up three runs in the 5^th. He ran into a bit of trouble again in the 8^th as he let up two more runs before being replaced by fellow senior Josh Young (Somersworth, N.H.). Gilchrist ended his senior season with a 3.63 ERA, a team high 55 strikeouts and 52.0 innings pitched through nine games. The offense in game one was very quiet as they could only tack up one run in the home half of the 7^th inning off of junior Dan Armstrong’s (Danville, N.H.) single to left field that allowed senior Brian Thompson (Southington, CT) to score from 3^rd base. Game one final score: Rhode Island College: 7 vs. Plymouth State: 1.

The Panthers closed out their season strong with junior Matt Doxter (Somersworth, N.H.) on the mound. He produced a great outing, going eight and a third letting up two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts. He closed out his season with a 4.57 ERA, 37 strikeouts and 41.1 innings pitched in nine appearances. The Plymouth offense was able to produce more this time around although it didn’t come until the 6^th inning. Down 2-0, junior Justin Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) singled to right field, allowing freshman Cam Ruziak (Sterling, MA) to score on an error by the right fielder. This sparked more action the very next inning as senior Brian Thompson picked up 2 RBIs doubling down the left field line with juniors Paul Reny (South Portland, ME) and Dave Hall (Groton, CT) in scoring position. This proved to be enough as senior Josh Young came in to close out this game as well, striking out his first batters and getting a ground out to short stop on the third Game two final score: Rhode Island College: 2 vs. Plymouth State: 3.

Despite missing the playoffs this season, the Panthers look forward to a fresh start next season with a new leader at the helm. Assistant coach Clay Jenkins is looking to bounce back in his first season, as he takes over for Coach Dennis McManus. We will have to wait and see what new faces will be around for next season with the incoming students. Also, someone will need to step up as a leader as the current seniors’ depart from the program.