After Cody Sederlin's hit, Levi Voigt trots home with the winning run in the second game of the Elgin-Prairie City doubleheader at Eugene Ricco Memorial Field. The Eagle/Allan Mandell

PRAIRIE CITY – Levi Voigt earned both victories in Prairie City’s doubleheader sweep over the Elgin Huskies in Special District 6 league play at Eugene Ricco Memorial Field on April 13.

In the first game, Voigt pitched a complete-game five-inning masterpiece. Throwing mostly fastballs, Voigt struck out 12, giving up only two hits and one walk. No Huskie reached third base in the 10-0 shutout.

“Levi was really bringing the heat,” said Panther catcher Cole Winegar.

“My hat goes off to Voigt,” said Huskie Head Coach Gordy Simons. “He is something special.”

Kenny Clingman set the offensive tone for Prairie City with a first-inning 355-foot grand slam over the left-center field wall. In the second inning, Brenton Groves hit a 3-run shot over the right field wall, extending the Panther lead to 9-0.

Southpaw Groves took the mound for the second game and threw two shutout innings while the Panthers put up two runs. But in the third inning Groves suffered an injury to his throwing arm and the first five Huskies reached base.

Reliever Cody Sederlin retired the side but not before the Huskies added three more hits taking a 7-2 lead.

Heading into the bottom of the fourth inning down 8-2, Panther Head Coach Shannon Voigt gave his team a mini-lecture.

“I told the kids that we had four more chances to get back in the ball game. ‘Let’s get a couple of runs this inning, a couple the next and let’s show what we’re made of,'” he said. “And then they stepped up big.”

With the bases loaded, Groves stroked a two-run single, and in the fifth inning Eddy Hicks knocked a solo shot over the right field wall to close the gap to 8-5.

Michael Bass led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single and Winegar drove him home with a two-run rocket over the right field wall. Groves was hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single by Clingman, and then scored on a fielder’s choice. The game was tied, 8-8.

Coach Voigt brought in his ace pitcher Levi Voigt for the seventh inning. He kept the Huskies off the board but the Panthers couldn’t score either and so the game went to extra innings.

Voigt shut down the Huskies in order then led off the Panther half of the eighth inning himself with a walk. He moved to second on a ground out and remained there after a strike out.

With two outs and the winning run on second, the coach approached Sederlin, his next hitter: “I just told him, ‘Cody, it’s time for you to be a senior.'”

“This was my most intense at-bat of the year,” said Sederlin. “I was pretty nervous about the whole situation.”

Sederlin saw a fastball approaching the right side of the plate and clubbed it cleanly into the right field gap. Voigt trotted in with the winning run and an estimated crowd of 200 Panther faithful went ballistic.

“I had a lot of confidence at the plate and saw my pitch,” said Sederlin. “I definitely knew it was a hit when it left my bat.”

“That was a great game,” said Huskie infielder and pitcher Dylan Moore. “They came through with the big hit at the end and you have to give them credit.”

“Hats off to Prairie City,” said Coach Simons. “That was one of the best baseball games I’ve seen in a long time. For Voigt to have the stamina to come in and pitch like he did in that second game was unbelievable.”

For the season, Voigt is 4-0 with three saves.

The Panthers (8-3 overall, 2-0 league) have now won six games in a row and travel to league rival Wallowa on Friday for a doubleheader. Elgin dropped to 3-9 overall (1-3 league).