FERRUM, Va. – Ferrum College outslugged Shorter University for an 18–8 victory in a Conference Carolinas baseball game this afternoon at Panther Field.

RECORDS
Ferrum 11-12, 6-10 CC
Shorter 10-14, 2-14 CC

THE BASICS
Ferrum found itself in an early hole as Shorter plated four runs in the top of the first inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Brooks McKenna and an RBI single by Isaiah Sims to take a 4-0 lead.

The Panthers answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning when Jachob Walters launched a two-run home run down the left-field line to score Tyler Mason. Colin Kim followed with an RBI single later in the frame to cut the deficit to 4-3.

Ferrum took control of the game in the second inning with a six-run outburst. Mason wreaked havoc on the bases, stealing third and scoring on a throwing error to tie the game before Niko Papathanasiou delivered an RBI double. The big blow came from Hunter Carlson, who crushed a grand slam to left-center, giving the Panthers a 9-4 advantage. Shorter responded with four runs in the third inning, stringing together timely hits including RBI knocks from Josh Tattershall, Micah Shipman, and Wilmer Henriquez to trim the deficit to 9-8.

The Panthers answered again in the fourth inning. Papathanasiou drove in a run with a single before Kim delivered a three-run double to push the lead to 13-8. Ferrum added insurance runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. A sacrifice fly by Smith Dickinson made it 14-8 in the fifth, while RBI singles from Kim and CJ Kemmerer in the sixth extended the lead. Walters added his second home run of the game in the seventh, and the Panthers capped the scoring in the eighth when Jayden Singleton doubled and later scored on a JJ Mulhern single to secure the 18-8 win.

Steven Ritchie provided key middle relief with 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the win and improve to 3-0 this season on the mound. Campbell Short closed the game with four shutout innings, striking out five to earn his first save of the season.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Kim 5-5, 2B, run, 5 RBI; Walters 2-3, 2 HR, 3 runs, 3 RBI; Carlson HR, 4 RBI; Steven Richie (W, 3-0) 2.1 inn, 0 hits, 0 runs
Shorter: Henriquez 3 hits, 2 RBI; McKenna 2 hits, 2 RBI; Sims 2 hits, RBI; Grady Parsons (L, 1-3) 1.1 inn, 3 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

UP NEXT
Coach Eric Owens' team will return to Panther Field Saturday for games two and three of the Conference Carolinas series. First pitch is set for noon.