The Knoxville Baseball Squad won a grinding game over Albia last night in nine innings 9-8, as heard live on 95.3 KNIA. The Panthers got on the board early on in the first inning with a Mike Hudson RBI double:

Albia would tie the game in the third, but back came the Panthers on a Ben Olson two-run double, and after three innings it was 4-2 Knoxville, but Albia came back with two more in the fourth to tie it at four, and Knoxville made it 6-4 on a Luke Spaur RBI single in the fifth and carried that lead into the seventh when walks and errors haunted the Panthers and allowed the Blue Demons to forge ahead 8-6. However, the defensive play of the game came in the seventh inning with bases loaded and two outs that finally retired the side:

The game would remain tied at eight until the bottom of the ninth when Ben Olson hit a sharp grounder to shortstop and the throw home was wide and Knoxville walked off 9-8 winners. The Panthers are now 2-4 on the season and will host Des Moines Christian on Saturday.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Panther drive, the Knoxville softball squad went toe-to-toe with Albia–the No. 3 ranked team in Class 3A, and nearly pulled off the upset, falling to the Lady Dees 6-4 in eight innings. The Panthers held a 3-2 lead after four innings but Albia came back to tie it and went ahead in the eighth with a home run. Knoxville suffers its first loss of the season and is now 4-1. The Panthers travel to class 4A #5 ADM tonight.