Subscribe Love

Cassimatis’ no-hitter leads Plano East

by | Mar 4, 2021 | Sports

Plano East Panthers baseball had all the makings of a special season in 2020.

With a 10-1-1 record and one of the top pitching staff in the district, the Panthers looked prime to not only compete for a district championship but make a run in the postseason. All of that was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and head coach Jordan Byrd said the team was still hopeful to see out what felt like a special season.

“We told all of the guys to kind of hang tight last season, as we weren’t exactly sure what would happen,” Byrd said. “We were having a lot of success so we were hopeful we would be back in a couple of weeks so it was difficult to think about what could have been.”

Now with 14 seniors and three juniors still returning to the roster, Plano East sees this as an opportunity to finish what they started last season. Having not played for the black and gold for almost a year, the excitement in practice is palpable.

“There’s been high energy and the guys are motivated to compete and get back out on the diamond,” Byrd said. “The culture we’ve built is really good at Plano East, and the guys have developed a strong bond and want to compete for their community.”

That energy was seen on the field when the Panthers opened the season at the Wylie East baseball tournament last weekend.

Scheduled to play two games on Thursday night, the Panthers were only able to get one game in before the storms delayed their second game, and they were able to open up the season with a 4-2 victory over Frisco Centennial. Playing through some bad weather, Plano East opened the season on the right foot and were ready to keep the momentum going.

They followed the victory with back-to-back games on Friday, taking on Sachse and then having to make up the game against JJ Pearce on Friday night. Caleb Bergman’s triple sparked the Panthers to win 5-1 over the Mustangs of Sachse, before they ultimately had to take their first loss 4-2 to JJ Pearce.

They saved the best for last, however, as Apollo Cassimatis came out onto the mound Saturday against Mesquite Horn. Dealing from the start, Cassimatis threw a no-hitter and got the win to go along with five strikeouts. The great performance on the mound was buoyed with a dominant performance at the plate for Plano East, who won the game 10-0.

After the 3-1 start, Plano East moves on to the Collin County Invitational next weekend. The Panthers will play six games from March 4 through March 6, starting with Denton Ryan on Thursday at 4 p.m.

For more stories like this, see the Mar. 4 issue or subscribe online.

By Kyle Grondin[email protected]

Subscribe Love

0 Comments

Public Notice - Subscribe

Related News

Runners pace Plano East tracksters at area meet

Runners pace Plano East tracksters at area meet

Plano East freshman Liana Wright, center, won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 11.56 seconds at the 5-6A/6-6A area meet at Ron Poe Stadium in McKinney last Friday. Karis Jenkins, right, placed third. Photo by Jerry Winfrey / C&S Media By David Wolman...

read more
Plano East soccer players make District 6-6A team

Plano East soccer players make District 6-6A team

Plano East senior forward Payten Cooper, a UCLA signee, has been named the offensive MVP of District 6-6A / Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media From Staff Reports The Plano East boys' and girls' soccer teams had players that were recently honored on the District 6-6A...

read more
Final scores for week of April 7-12

Final scores for week of April 7-12

Plano East's Chloe Lee had one hit and one RBI during last Friday's 5-0 win for the Lady Panthers over Plano. Photo by Jerry Winfrey / C&S Media From Staff Reports Final scores for games played by Plano East from April 7-12: Saturday, Apri. 12 Baseball Plano East...

read more
Final scores for week of March 28-April 3

Final scores for week of March 28-April 3

Plano East's Kylie Grant looks a fly ball into her glove during the Lady Panthers' 5-4 road win over McKinney Boyd on Tuesday, April 1. Photo by Jerry Winfrey / C&S Media From Staff Reports Final scores for games played by Plano East from March 28-April 3:...

read more
Scores for week of March 20-27

Scores for week of March 20-27

Plano East senior Payten Cooper attempts to keep the ball away from Coppell senior Monica Morales during a Class 6A Division I bi-district playoff game on Friday, March 21. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media From Staff Reports Final scores for Plano East games played...

read more
Scores for week of March 12-19

Scores for week of March 12-19

Plano East senior Jackson Hays touches home plate to score a run for the Panthers during their 6-1 home win over Princeton on Wednesday, March 12. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media From Staff Reports The following are final scores for Plano East games played from...

read more
Public Notice - Subscribe