The Burton Panthers made a late move to victory on Friday afternoon in an impressive late-inning performance against Tidehaven.
Burton scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth inning to take down the Class 3A Tigers 7-2 in the second day of the Weimar tournament.
The Panthers trailed 2-1 heading into the fifth inning before catcher Braydon Martin pushed Burton to the lead with a two-RBI single into left field. Senior third baseman Ryder Biggs added a two-out RBI single into left field to move the Panthers into a 4-2 lead.
A key double play in the top of the sixth helped the Panthers get the bats back in their hands.
Coy Gurka scored on a Tidehaven error in the bottom of the sixth before center fielder Rueben Rodriguez put a two-RBI single into left field to give Burton a 7-2 lead. Rodriguez tallied his second and third RBI of the game with his second hit of the afternoon.
Rodriguez, the fourth hitter in Burton’s lineup, was part of a four-man Panther group with two hits. Burton’s second, third, fourth and fifth hitters in its order collected multiple hits as pitcher Eli Jaeger, Biggs and Martin also turned in two-hit days.
Biggs collected his first multi-hit game of the season on Friday while Martin added his third two-hit game of the year. Rodriguez turned in his seventh multi-hit game this season and Jaeger collected his fourth multi-hit game of his junior campaign.
Jaeger pitched all six innings and struck out three Tidehaven hitters. He allowed two hits, runs and walks in his third outing on the mound this season.
The Panthers will begin district play at 1 p.m. on Tuesday against Iola.