The Crestwood Panthers returned home on Monday with a spirited comeback effort, but ultimately falling just short to the Joliet Generals.

The Panthers fell behind 7-0 in the fourth inning, but the bats woke up in the sixth inning. The Panthers came back by scoring eight runs in the sixth through the eighth innings, but the Generals added two more in the seventh and two more in the ninth to finish the game 11-8. Head coach D’Vante Glenn loved the resilience of his team.

“We’re a team that finds a way to battle back.” Glenn said.

When down 7-0, the Panthers cracked the scoreboard with three runs in the sixth. Hobbs Dunne continued his hot streak in the sixth inning with an RBI single to get the Panthers on the board scoring Aydin Wright. Joshua Aguiniga followed that up with a 2 RBI single to make it a 7-3 ballgame.

In the seventh, the Panthers added three more after the Generals scored twice. Wright tripled in the seventh inning to score Maurey Garrett to make it a 9-4 ballgame. Two Generals errors then cause Aydin Wright and Peter Fusek to score to make it 9-6.

Fusek got the Panthers closer in the eighth with a two run double to make it 9-8. However, the Generals added two runs in the ninth to pull away to the 11-8 win.

On the mound the Panthers had to rely on three position players to finish the day after starter Ryan Ball finished only three innings. Hobbs Dunne and Jacob White pitched two innings each in their first appearances on the mound, and Jaylun Cooper pitched the final two innings in his second pitching appearance. Glenn was pleased with the effort he got out of the position player-pitchers.

“It was very much appreciated.” Glenn said, “We needed those guys to come on and get outs, and they did so.”

The Panthers play next on Tuesday at Marian Catholic High School at 5 p.m. against the Southland Vikings. The Panthers are 2-2 against the Vikings this season.

For the full box score, visit the Northern League Pointstreak page: http://baseball.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=586188.