White hot: With their hair dyed white, Eagles pummel Panthers

Grain Valley’s bats and those of Oak Grove’s continued moving in opposite directions Tuesday.
The Eagles pounded out 15 hits – including a two-run home run by David Richards – as they knocked off MRVC West rival Oak Grove 10-1.
It’s the second win over Oak Grove in less than a week for the Eagles, after no-hitting the Panthers Friday.
The Eagles (8-2, 3-1 MRVC West) didn’t wait long to get on the board, as Richards belted a two-run home run in the top of the first.
Richards finished with two hits and a pair of RBIs. His two outs were both hard-hit shots to left field.
“It just seemed like the ball was right there,” Richards said. “It was like I could see it from when it left his hand until I hit it.”
Those two runs were plenty for starter Braxton Anthony, who gave up two hits in six innings in picking up the win.
“I felt good,” Anthony said. “I’ve just been feeling really good lately.
“And everybody’s been hitting so well, it’s exciting. You just feel like all you need to do is throw strikes and our hitting and defense will take care of everything.”
About the only thing Anthony didn’t seem in sync with was his hairstyle, as he was one of the only players who hadn’t dyed his hair bright blonde – a team-bonding experiment.
“The last team to do it went to state,” he said. “I’ve had a bunch of stuff to do. Plus, I gotta get a haircut.”
Anthony did say he planned on getting that taken care of Wednesday.
After putting up two in the first, the Eagles scored three in the second, thanks in large part to Jake Talamonte’s two-run single.
After RBI singles by Richards and Austin Gouldsmith put the Eagles up 7-0, Oak Grove starting pitcher Riley Glasgow finally got revenge with a solo home run to account for half of Oak Grove’s hits and the only run for the Panthers (1-12, 0-4 MRVC West).
“I was just up trying to keep my team in it,” Glasgow said. “I was just trying to get a base hit and it flew out.
“It was rough (pitching). You hope you throw well every day, but you can’t. They’re tough. They’re a good hitting team.”
Jordan Oddo had three hits for Grain Valley, as did Ryan Skinner, who scored three runs. David Duncan added two hits.
Panthers coach Kirk Sears said he’s still trying to figure out how to get his team to start games better offensively.
“Right now, it’s extremely tough,” he said. “We get behind, and then we don’t do such a good job of competing. It’s almost like we’re waiting for the wrong thing to happen. And when it does, we’re not able to battle to make up for it.
“It’s extremely frustrating. If you find an answer, let me know.”