Riverton Parke looks to bring regional baseball crown home

Friday, June 5, 2026 at 2:34 PM

By Paul Gable

Two outs.

That's how close Riverton Parke was to capturing a baseball regional title a season ago.

The Panthers will get a chance for redemption Saturday when they take on Rossville at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lafayette Jefferson.

"Last season, we were two outs away from winning the Regional and that has been our motivation all season to get back to this game and secure a win. We will be ready to go on Saturday," Riverton Parke coach Charlie Martin told The Parke County Post.

Martin said he has known all season long his team had the making of a sectional contender and could go far.

"We knew our team was a Sectional contender from the start of the season. We lost several great seniors from the 2025 team, but we knew we had players waiting that would be ready to step into starting roles this season," he said.

Leading the way has been pitcher Brody McConnell, who will take the mound Saturday.

"Brody had a bit of a rocky start to the season, but over the last month, he has thrown the ball really well," Martin said.

Additionally, the Panthers have received solid pitching from Bruce Landes, who pitched six hitless innings in the sectional championship game and has cemented his spot as Riverton Parke's number two pitcher. According to Martin, he has also hit consistently at the plate.

Shortstop Eli Roberts has produced, as has leadoff hitter Jackson While, who had a "monster" sectional championship game, according to his coach.

"Freshman Trent Crowder started the season as our 9 hole hitter and has been so good in his rookie year that he now hits 2nd in the line up. Our two seniors Blake Todd and Collett Sanders are probably our most improved players offensively from last season," Martin said.

The Panthers will need all the hits and solid pitching they can muster, as Rossville is a "tough opponent with a tradition of good baseball teams," Martin said.

"They eliminated us in the State semi finals in 2001 in a 2-1 game and beat us in the Regional in 2019 by a score of 4-3. Their record, much like ours, is deceiving because they play a very tough schedule during the regular season. Their pitcher is elite and relies more on breaking balls than fastballs, but will be very tough to score runs against," Martin said.