By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
FAYETTE (April 9, 2026) – Anyone remember the Kurt Russell character Jack Burton from “Big Trouble in Little China,” who said “I can get out of trouble as fast as I got into it”?
Stryker’s Bradley Williams did his best Jack Burton imitation against Fayette, three times evading runners in scoring position with less than two outs, to lead the Panthers to a 5-2 triumph over the Eagles.
“Last year it took us a lot longer than what I wanted,” Stryker coach Austin Nichols said about attaining the Panthers’ first victory.
“It feels really good to get the monkey off our back. I know the boys are really going to enjoy it, they were probably more excited about it than I am. We still have stuff to work on but we’ll hit the ground running and keep at it.”
The Panthers capitalized on Eagle starter Carter Lavinder’s inability to find the plate, scoring three times without a hit in the first two innings.
Chandler Lloyd drew a leadoff walk in the first, went to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a wide pickoff throw, and scored on yet another wild pitch to put the Panthers in the lead.
Williams got out of a two-on, no-one-out jam in the first with a pair of easy fly balls and a strikeout to keep Fayette off the board.
A one-out error in the second, then a walk to Lane Breen and a second base on balls to Lloyd along with a dropped throw at first base and a balk plated two more Stryker runs to push their advantage to 3-0.
Lavinder’s RBI single in the bottom of the third sliced into the Panther lead, but Williams threw out Lavinder trying to score after a Panther miscue to keep the score at 3-1.
Fayette threatened again in the fourth.
Zach Oehlers reached on a one-out error and Zander Johnston followed with a base hit, and both runners moved up on a passed ball to put Eagles on second and third.
For a second time, Williams got himself out of trouble as he struck out Keagan Patterson and got Joe Ohlemacher on a bouncer to the mound.
Stryker got a pair of insurance runs in the top of the fifth. After a walk, Williams got the only Stryker hit of the day with a one-out single to right to put runners on first and second.
A force play at third left the Eagles with a two-on, two-out situation, but two straight hit batters and a wild pitch brought home two runs to make it 5-1 and spelled the end of the day for Lavinder.
Ohlemacher came to the mound and got out of the inning when he picked a runner off first.
Fayette (1-2, 0-1 BBC) got one of those runs back in the fifth on Mason Leininger’s single and a run-scoring double from Dane Andrews.
The Eagles put together a scoring chance in the sixth when Oehlers and Johnston opened the inning with singles.
Yet again Williams pulled a Houdini act as he induced a fly ball and a pair of infield pops to squelch the rally.
“He’s a senior and I expect him to work his way out of a situation,” Nichols said. “He handles pressure so well and he has made pitches out there before. He just looked effortless when we needed him to make a big stop.”
Williams did not walk a batter going the distance for the victory. He allowed seven hits and struck out seven.
Leininger struck out six but walked six and hit three more Panthers (1-3, 1-0 BBC). Ohlemacher retired six straight in his final two innings of work, striking out the side in the sixth.
SHS 120 020 0 – 5 1 3
FHS 001 010 0 – 2 7 3
WP- Bradley Williams (IP-7, H-7, R-2, BB-1, K-7)
LP- Carter Lavinder (IP-4.2, H-1, R-5, BB-6, K-6)
LEADING HITTERS: (Stryker) – 1 single; (Fayette) Dane Andrews – double, RBI; Zander Johnston – 2 singles
