HS Baseball Notes: Providence Panthers finding a new identity after historic 2022 season

The Providence Panthers find themselves in an unfamiliar spot — not in first place in their conference standings.

The Panthers have won their conference every year the league’s games have been contested since 2015. After a historic 34-0 season a year ago, this year’s squad looks a lot different and has had to adjust without a lot of the seniors it lost a season ago. The team is off to a 9-4 start.

“It has been an interesting year,” head coach Danny Hignight said. “I really like our club. I thought we had a great off-season. It was one of the best off-seasons we’ve had in 20 years. We have some new faces in new places. I think the opener (a 2-0 loss against Weddington) was kind of a punch in the mouth. We sat around in the locker room after that game and I saw 15 or 16 players that had never lost a game wearing that uniform.”

The Panthers’ four losses have all been in close games, with their largest loss margin being just two runs. In their wins, the Panthers have mostly been dominant like in years past.

“We lost a 2-0 game to Weddington where we only gave up one hit,” Hignight said. “We lost a game to Charlotte Catholic where we no-hit Catholic; we lost a two-run game to Butler where we blew a lead, late.”

Hignight feels as if it is all about getting back to playing Providence-style baseball — team-oriented.

“We have usually been really good at taking what our opponent gives us,” Hignight said. “I think early on this season the guys were pressing too much. They pressed to think that they had to get a hit or do this or that. When, in reality, you have to play through each other and for each other. If you can do that, it takes the pressure off of you thinking that you have to do something individually rather than as a team.”

Providence moved up two spots in The Observer Sweet 16 this week, and was 9-4 heading into Wednesday’s home game with Hopewell. The Panthers had won six straight games.

Providence is beginning to look like Providence.

“To say that being (9-4) at Providence High School is exciting would be a lie,” Hignight said. To say that our record doesn’t really show the quality club that we have would be 100 percent accurate. There are other teams that can say that, too.”

With nine games left in the regular season, the Panthers still have a lot of tough competition in front of them — still having to play several teams within the Sweet 16 rankings.

“There is a lot of season left,” Hignight said. “There are plenty of good tests out there ahead of us. The best team in our city is Ardrey Kell and we have two games with them. Hough is the best team on the other side of town and we have a game with them. So, there are clearly a lot of tests in front of us, but we are just trying to get better today.”

Key results from last week

▪ No. 2 Ardrey Kell won both their games against No. 12 South Mecklenburg last week, 7-3 and 4-1 respectively. The Knights have found their rhythm at the right time of the season.

▪ No. 10 Charlotte Christian and No. 11 Cannon School split their two-game series last week, both games ending in a 4-0 final score.

Games of the week

▪ No. 1 Hough travels to No. 7 Myers Park on April 7 in what should be a great test for both teams. If the Huskies’ top-notch pitching continues, it will be an excellent test for the Mustangs’ batters.

▪ No. 2 Ardrey Kell travels to a neutral tournament to face Phillip Simmons out of Charleston, South Carolina. These two teams can put up runs quickly with both squads averaging more than 7 runs a game.

▪ No. 1 Hough has a quick turnaround after their game against Myers Park when they play No. 12 South Mecklenburg for the second time this season. The Sabers will be out for revenge as the Huskies won the first game 11-4 a few weeks ago.

The Observer’s Sweet 16 Baseball Poll

Dropped Out: North Lincoln (3A, 7-5); Piedmont (4A, 7-7). Also receiving consideration: Butler (4A, 9-5); Cox Mill (4A, 7-6); Cuthbertson (4A, 7-7)