The Bushnell-Prairie City High School baseball team opened the final week of regular season play Monday afternoon, losing to visiting Camp Point Central 11-3.
Tied 1-1 after two innings, the visiting Panthers scored five times in the top of the third to take the lead for good.
B-PC scored twice in the bottom of the inning, to cut the deficit to 6-3. But Central scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh, along with two runs in sixth to add on to its advantage, maintaining control in the process.
Central out-hit B-PC 12-8, with the Spartans also committing five errors.
Connor Palm and Thomas Anderson had two hits each and a run scored for B-PC. Anderson also knocked in a run.
Dylan King added a hit and a run scored for the Spartans, while Miles Strode batted in a pair of runs.
Ryan Adler added two hits and Landon Ferguson one for B-PC.
Alex Kohler pitched six innings, allowing 10 runs, eight earned, on 11 hits. He struck out two, walked two and hit two batters.
Palm pitched the seventh, allowing one unearned run on one hit. He struck out two and walked one.
Grant Hamilton had three hits and knocked in two runs for Camp Point Central (17-5).
Luke Ippensen and Collin Likes added two hits and one run batted in each, with Ippensen also scoring three runs.
Braxton Kestner scored twice and knocked in two runs, while Caleb Peterson also scored three times for the Panthers.
Jensen DeMoss pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits, striking out seven.
Liam Skinner pitched the final two innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced.
A late change in the schedule saw B-PC and South Fulton play on consecutive days, starting with Wednesday’s contest at Bushnell.
The Rebels rode the pitching of Colby Martin and Bobby Welch in blanking the Spartans 8-0.
Martin pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and four walks, striking out 12.
Welch pitched the seventh striking out the side on 12 pitches to lock down the win.
B-PC starter Connor Palm matched Martin for the first four innings as the contest remained scoreless.
South Fulton (4-20) broke the scoring ice in the fifth.
Owen Heitz opened the inning with a single to center. Perry Long walked with one out and both runners advanced to second and third when Welch grounded out to third.
Both runners scored when Jackson Miller singled to right, giving the Rebels a 2-0 lead.
The Rebels seized command in the seventh, scoring six runs. South Fulton took advantage of three walks, two hit batters, two hits and an error. The inning also included three wild pitches.
South Fulton out-hit B-PC 6-2 with Anderson recording both hits for the Spartans.
Palm pitched 4.1 innings for B-PC (2-26), allowing one run on three hits. He struck out 11 and walked one.
Ethan Hyde pitched 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on one hit with three walks. King faced three batters, allowing two runs with one walk and one hit batter.
Strode recorded the final three outs, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits with two strikeouts and one hit batter.
The two teams were scheduled to play again Thursday, this time at Pete Egleton Field in Astoria.
The Spartans were then slated to begin Illinois High School Association Class 1A Regional play Monday at Knoxville against the Blue Bullets (5-21-1).
