PANTHERS DROP 2 IN HOME OPENER

The Philander Smith Panthers opened their 2026 home baseball schedule with a disappointing 16-11 loss to the LeMoyne Owen College Magicians in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon.

The Panthers scored 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 10-3 lead after falling behind early when Cedric Poellnitz smacked a three-run homer to give the Magicians an early lead.  The Panther bats were hot early as a combination of hits and wild pitches led to a lead change.  Nathaniel Lebron led off the scoring with an RBI single, scoring Elijah Cook.  Bradley Brown followed with a two-run double, scoring Elliot Sheppard and Addison Brown to tie the game 3-3.  Chandler Morrow's single scored Terron McGrew, and in Cook's second at-bat, he grounded out to right field, scoring Ivan Emerson before Sheppard's two-run homer to rightfield ended the scoring of the inning.

Both teams scored a run in the second frame.

The Panthers went scoreless thereafter, finding themselves victimized by a slew of errors and wild pitches the rest of the way as the Magicians outscored them 15-0.  The Panthers surrendered four home runs during the onslaught. 

GAME TWO

The Story was much of the same for the Panthers in the nightcap as they fell 14-8 after falling behind early.  The highlights for the Panthers were the two hits, two runs scored, and an RBI by Kyle Ritchie, along with Tyron Brickhill's one run with two hits and one RBI in the loss.

The Panthers fell to 3-10 for the season.