Holliston’s baseball team had a difficult afternoon yesterday, falling 10-5 to Natick in a game that tested the Panthers on both sides of the field. Natick controlled much of the action and kept Holliston from getting the kind of clean defensive innings it needed to stay within striking distance.
The Panthers still had some bright spots at the plate. Henry Leek drove in three runs with two hits, and Gavin Sammon added two hits and two RBIs to give Holliston some offensive production. The issue came on the mound and in the field, where the Panthers gave Natick too many extra chances. Cullen Forde struggled through three innings and allowed four earned runs, while the defense contributed three unearned runs.
Facing a strong Natick team made the result understandable, but Holliston will know it left some runs on the board and gave away too much on defense. The Panthers are now 4-5 on the season, and the loss is a reminder that tightening up the fundamentals will be important if they want to climb back toward .500.
Holliston gets another opportunity to respond tomorrow at 2 p.m. against Durfee High School. Durfee comes in at 5-5 after a 7-2 win over Weymouth on Tuesday, so the Panthers will need a cleaner game if they want to avoid another setback and get back in the win column.
