By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
EL DORADO - The last two days have been forgettable for El Dorado.
A day after being held without a hit in a loss to Sheridan, Magnolia spoiled the Wildcats’ Senior Day by rolling to an 11-1 win on Tuesday in Class 5A-6A District 6 play.
Parker Ribble and Matt Goodheart each clubbed two-run homers and drove in three runs apiece for the Panthers.
Goodheart, the MVP of last year’s 5A State Tournament who also authored a no-hitter against the Wildcats last spring, yielded just three hits and a run in four innings of work.
His two-run shot in the third gave Magnolia an 11-0 lead.
While the Panthers (20-1) look to be a threat to repeat as 5A state champions, the Wildcats (10-14) struggled mightily, committing six errors.
“We played two of the top teams in the state back to back,” said El Dorado coach Sam Tyler. “We’ve just got to put it together. We struggled those first two innings. I think if we start off good in the first couple of innings, that’s going to change the way the momentum of the game went.
“It’s hard to dig yourself out of a hole once you get in it. I think the effort was there, its just we’ve got to execute the plays. That’s the thing about it. We definitely can learn from it, so hopefully this is a learning experience, and know that there is another game. The season is not over. The conference tournament is coming up, and our goal is to make the state tournament.”
The visitors gave Goodheart an early cushion with a three-run first against EHS starter Jackson Waldrum.
With one out, Kurt Pletcher singled.
Goodheart then followed with a base hit to center, but when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, Pletcher scored to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Goodheart advanced to third on the miscue, setting the stage for Ribble.
The Magnolia shortstop belted Waldrum’s 1-1 offering over the fence in left for a two-run homer that gave the Panthers a 3-0 edge.
Magnolia took a commanding lead with a five-run second.
Connor Harrington reached after a high throw on his grounder to shortstop pulled first baseman Brennan Smith off the bag for an error.
Back-to-back singles by Brooks Lynch and Jay French loaded the bases for Pletcher, who missed a home run by a couple of feet after his fly ball hit the fence in left for a two-run single.
With runners now at the corners, Goodheart hit a grounder to first, but Pletcher was safe at second due to a throwing error on a potential force play, and French scored on the play to give the Panthers a 6-0 edge.
After homering in the first, Ribble ripped an RBI double to right-center to score Pletcher.
One out later, Payton Campbell walked to load the bases, and Goodheart scored when Kevin Zhao’s grounder to second was misplayed for the Wildcats’ third error of the inning.
French, one of five Panthers with at least two hits in the contest, had an RBI triple before Goodheart belted his aforementioned two-run shot in the third.
The Wildcats remained hitless until Micah Haney reached on an infield single to start the bottom of the third, and they scored their lone run in the fourth.
Noah Gaul led off with a walk and took second on a wild pitch.
One out later, Smith went to the opposite field with a base hit to left to put runners at the corners, and Derek Jobe drove in Gaul with a sacrifice fly.
Goodheart, who walked one and struck out three, went 3-for-4 to lead the Panthers’ 11-hit attack. Pletcher, Ribble and Lynch also had two hits for Magnolia.
Gage Otwell had a single in the third to account for the Wildcats’ third hit in the game. Waldrum suffered the loss on the mound.
Ribble worked around a leadoff walk to Connor Cates in a scoreless fifth. He struck out two.
Although the last two days have been tough for the Wildcats, their most important games lie directly in front of them.
El Dorado has a showdown at Texarkana on Thursday, which will determine their seeding for the 6A West Conference Tournament.
The Wildcats will then begin their postseason needing one win to qualify for the state tournament.
“In baseball, you’ve got to have a short memory,” Tyler said. “You’re only as good as your last game, your last at-bat. You’ve got to live in the present, so we’re going to try to live in the present, and we’ll move forward from there. We’ll do the best we can. All we can ask for is as long as we keep our attitude, concentration and effort at 100 percent, things are going to come into play that are going to be positive for us.”