The weather might have been warm Monday, but TMB’s bats were a bit cold, as the Panthers opened the 2026 season with a 7-4 loss to Adrian-Ellsworth in Adrian.
The Dragons jumped on TMB starter Connor Lanoue right away with two first-inning runs, and TMB tied it at 2 in the second, but A-E countered with two more in the third for a 4-2 lead.
The Panthers fought back to tie it at 4 with two runs in the sixth, but the Dragons slammed the door with a three-run sixth inning.
“With it being the first game, we knew the batting and pitching may not be there, but the kids did a good job battling at the plate all game,” TMB coach James Fultz said. “We didn’t have a ton of hard contact and had some quick innings when batting, but we left five guys in scoring position, so we had chances to take control of the game. “
TMB’s four hits came from Jackson Kruse (two singles), Aiden Sanow and Brody Hauger. Sanow and Carson Lanoue had the Panthers RBI. Kruse also scored a pair of runs.
Connor Lanoue pitched three innings and was charged with four earned runs. He struck out four.
“Connor attacked the zone and they hit him, we will live with that in game one,” Fultz said. “Jackson did a good job of attacking the zone until the sixth inning, then got a little wild. Adrian earned all 7 runs they scored with us only having one error on the day that didn’t hurt us. The defense today was good enough to win. If we can cut down on the strikeouts at the plate and force the other team into weaker contact we will be in a good spot. More games and live at-bats will help this group a ton; we will see the at bats getting better as we get into consistent games.”
TMB 020 000 2 — 4 4 1 A-E 202 003 x — 7 8 2
Connor Lanoue, Jackson Kruse (4) and Squires. SACB: Sanow.
