What stood out in Providence baseball’s loss to Reagan? The seniors did

Providence High’s baseball season didn’t end the way the Panthers had hoped.

On Tuesday night, in front of a large crowd of raucous fans at home, the top-seeded Panthers had a chance to reach their first state championship game in six seasons — and avenge a 15-2 loss to Reagan High that started the season in April.

But Providence couldn’t extend its season, falling 7-3.

“It was a great game between two amazing programs,” Raiders starting pitcher Josh Hartle said. “We played early in the season — we blew them out — but we knew it wasn’t going to be the same game. It’s a different team, a well-coached team. We had to play a great game, and we did.”

Hartle was a big reason why Reagan advanced. The 6-foot-5 lefty is a top-50 Major League Draft prospect and has committed to play for Wake Forest. Hartle dominated the game with a tough breaking ball and a 94-mph fastball. He threw a complete game, only giving up three hits while notching six strikeouts. All three of those hits came in the last two innings.

“We didn’t see anything we didn’t expect,” Panthers head coach Danny Hignight said. “He does as good a job mixing pitches as well any high school kid I’ve seen, going back to when Alex Wood (now with the San Francisco Giants) or Dillon Maples (now with the Chicago Cubs) were around.”

Though Hartle will undoubtedly be picked in July’s MLB Draft, he said his main focus is still with his Reagan team and with the Demon Deacons after that.

“It’s something you always dream of as a kid, and you never realize you’re going to be in that position, so I’m just very fortunate,” said Hartle on his status in the draft. “I’m committed to Wake Forest, so that’s what I’m looking forward to now.”

Hartle will look ahead to Friday’s state championship series, which will be in Fayetteville or Burlington.

Seniors lead the way

Providence — at least some of the players — can look ahead to next season.

Something that Hignight said made the loss especially bittersweet was seeing his seniors play their last high school game. And though the Panthers went down, the seniors were leading from the front the whole time.

In the first inning, when junior starter Michael Forret found himself in a jam, it was senior right-fielder Jack Prosser who saved the inning. With a runner on third and one out, Forret induced a popout, which Prosser caught behind first base before making a tough throw and getting the out at home.

When Forret began to falter in the top of the fifth after a few fielding errors and tough breaks, it was senior Jeremy Beamon who took his place on the mound. While his outing was similarly rough, the Liberty commit stayed in the rest of the game.

“I’m proud of them,” Hignight said. “From where they were as freshmen, all the adversity they faced, for the players they were then to what they became — they’re going to face adversity in life, and I hope I helped prepare them for it.”

The Panthers will have a plethora of talent to run it back next season, including the return of the soon-to-be-senior Forret and rising young sluggers like Collin McDougal — who hit a three-run homer just two games ago — and freshman Tyler Khanolkar.

But, even in a tough loss like tonight, the Providence coach said his seniors deserve all the credit in the world.

“They played their hearts out,” Hignight said.

This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 7:00 AM.