Perkiomen School's baseball team has relied on grit and depth to open the season with nine consecutive victories. Head coach Ken Baker described this team as his deepest ever. The coach said he's not afraid to play all 20 players on the roster.

            "They are all going to contribute," Baker said. "There's a great deal of camaraderie on this team."

            According to the coach, the Panthers displayed determination in a 3-2 victory over Friends' Central on Wednesday, April 13.  Shane Baird and Calvin Dymond led the Panthers (9-0 overall, 4-0 Penn-Jersey League) to their eighth consecutive victory.

            Erick Diaz earned a three-out save in their road win over the Phoenix, who had posted three consecutive wins in the series last season. Baird, Perkiomen School's starting pitcher, tossed five shutout innings. He left the game with a 2-0 lead, thanks in part to Dymond's solo homer in the third inning. Dymond added an RBI single in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 3-0.

            "We have been getting a lot of timely hits," the coach said.

            Baker said he was impressed with the way his offense battled against Johnny Fitzpatrick, Friends' Central standout pitcher. The senior, who pitched at 88-89 miles per hour, permitted just one earned run on four hits in five innings.  

            After the host Phoenix added two in the bottom of the sixth inning, they put two runners on base in the seventh on a hit and a walk. However, Diaz worked out of trouble to secure the win.

            On Saturday, April 16, the Panthers relied on timely hitting and solid pitching from Juan Sanchez to post a 7-0 non-league victory over Faith Christian Academy. Henry Claussell's three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, three hitters into the game, provided the team with all the offense it would need for its ninth consecutive win.

            His fourth home run of the season, off Lions starter Grayson Weikel, easily cleared the left field fence at Baker Field. Claussell finished with two hits and scored two runs.  "He's going to be a good one," the coach said of his sophomore first baseman from Petillas, Puerto Rico. "He's got an extremely quick bat."

            Sanchez, a junior lefthander, allowed just three hits over six innings to earn the mound victory. In his second start for Perkiomen School, the North Brunswick, N.J. resident struck out 10 and issued one walk on 89 pitches.

            Nate Romberger worked a scoreless seventh inning to secure the win. He allowed a leadoff infield hit but retired the next three hitters.

            The Panthers' offense made the most of its six hits. Dymond drove in Claussell with a single to left to trigger a three-run rally in the fifth inning. The team scored once in the fourth inning without a hit.

            Inclement weather forced the cancellation of games Monday against the Hun School and Tuesday at the New Foundations Charter School in Philadelphia. Perkiomen School was scheduled to travel to Community Academy on Wednesday, April 20.