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By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

The Calera Eagles ramped up the score against Jemison in the Panthers’ home territory on March 23.

The game ended 16-5 after Jemison’s last at-bat produced a run but failed to bring them back from an insurmountable 12-run deficit.

Calera’s Jacob Smith was an asset on the mound and at the plate. He pitched nine strikeouts in five innings and had 2 RBIs on doubles.

Jemison was in the race for the first two innings, but the wheels fell off as the Eagles scored more runs each inning than they did in the previous, with the exception of the sixth, when Blake Smith for Jemison came in with a fresh arm and pitched two strikeouts and Hunter Hood caught a line drive at shortstop for the third out.

After a quick inning with no runs by Calera, the Panthers had hope for a comeback. Kevin Martin reached first on an error and was sent home by Will Johns’ double. Hood sacrificed a hit to bring Johns home, making the game 12-4. Two quick outs followed to bring about the top of the seventh.

Undeterred by Jemison’s glimpse of a comeback in the sixth, the Eagles stepped up to the plate and scored five runs in the top of the seventh. Calera had help from two walks and three hit batters as Smith’s arm started to wear out.

The Eagles set the bar at 16-4 and surrendered only one run in the seventh.

Time will tell if Jemison can swing the momentum against Calera on the road in a double-header on March 24.