SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Hawks kicked off an early start to their weekend series on Thursday (Mar. 28) with Easter Sunday forcing the series against the Panthers of Drury forward a day. QU ripped 15 hits while leaving 15 ducks on the pond, still scoring 8 runs to force some free baseball, but ultimately it was the Panthers prevailing in the 10th with a walk-off of the Hawks 9-8. 

A double from Dustin Dupont followed by an error on the infield and RBI singles from Austin Simpson and Cole Erickson put Quincy on the board in the top of the first leading 2-0. Neither side scored again until the fifth inning as Hawks starter, Griffin Kirn, kept the Panthers off the board for the first four frames while collecting six strikeouts. 

QU plated a pair of runs in the fifth on a homer from Joe Huffman and another RBI single for Cole Erickson to double the advantage to 4-0 before three-straight two-out singles and a passed ball pushed across the first Drury run of the game. The next batter tucked a three-run homerun down the left field wall to tie the game at 4-4. 

DU added two more in the seventh using a walk, couple singles, sacrifice and wild pitch to make it 6-4. The Hawks responded with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth on a David Broughton longball to tie the game once more before taking the lead later in the inning on a bases loaded walk for Erickson. 

The Panthers cracked two solo shots in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead right back before the Hawks plated a run in the top of the ninth on a Dupont double to even the tally at 8-8. 

A scoreless ninth from Roman Harrison gave the fans in attendance at Mark Worley Field some free baseball to watch as it took 10 innings to finally claim a victor in the Panthers who walked it off for a 9-8 win over Quincy in game one of the series. 

Next Up 

The Hawks look to get back on the right track in the series with a doubleheader of seven-inning ballgames against the Panthers tomorrow . First pitch for game one is slated for a noon start time.