Panthers drop their home opener
Lose to the Baycats after beating Burlington on the road Saturday
KITCHENER — Dave teBoekhorst told his Kitchener Panthers he wanted them to ease their way into the 2017 Intercounty Baseball League season.
He probably won’t be too upset, then, by the team splitting their opening weekend — after the bullpen bailed out their starting pitcher on Saturday but couldn’t repeat the feat in an 11-7 loss in their home opener Sunday.
On Saturday against the rebranded Burlington Herd, slugger Sean Reilly had three hits and drove in a pair of runs to make the Kitchener Panthers 4-2 winners, in a game where starter Noelvis Entenza struggled with command and couldn’t get out of the third inning.
The Panthers turned it over to their bullpen, and they shut out the Herd over the next six innings. Mike Schnurr threw a perfect eighth and ninth innings for his first save.
The next day, former Chicago Cubs prospect Jasvir Rakkar gave up seven hits and seven runs, three of them earned, against the defending champion Barrie Baycats. Cuban shortstop Yorbis Borroto had three hits on a blustery day at Jack Couch Park, including his first home run as a Panther, and drove in a pair while batting leadoff.
First baseman Justin Interisano added two hits, while Terrell Alliman and Santino Silvestri both smacked doubles. Barrie’s Brett Lawson gave up eight hits over five innings, but held on for the win.
Before the start of the season, the Panthers’ skipper was urging a slow and steady approach out of the gate after his team ran out of steam at the end of the 2016 season.
Last year, Kitchener didn’t lose a game in the month of May, and produced a stunning 84 runs in their first five outings while hitting a collective .405 as a team.
But by the end of July, they had slipped out of first place, and stumbled in the playoffs — ultimately getting swept in the semifinals by Barrie.
“We peaked way too early last year,” teBoekhorst said. “We were like caged animals in March. And we came out flying in May, then we hit a wall at the end of July and we couldn’t get it back.”
The team struggled to find an answer to its offensive woes, and some of its top hitters looked lost at the plate.
“We were just done, and I don’t want to go through that again,” teBoekhorst said.
That’s why the manager says this May won’t be about winning games. It’ll be about giving everyone playing time and at-bats, testing out the new guys and seeing what he’s got in this squad.
In the Intercounty, where every team makes the playoffs, all that matters is the post-season.
So all teBoekhorst wants is his team to arrive there healthy, and ready for a good long run.
“That’s the trick. I’m not the most patient guy in the world, and I have to try to teach patience to them” he said. “My uncle used to say, the earlier you start, the earlier you finish. That couldn’t have been more true for us last year.”
The Panthers next game is Sunday, May 21 at home against Brantford.
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