Leitschuh's comeback keys Litchfield | Panthers score 11 in 6th to win

LITCHFIELD — Just being back in the dugout with the Purple Panthers’ uniform on was a big deal to Max Leitschuh’s teammates. What the Litchfield senior can do with a bat in his hands was on full display in Litchfield’s dramatic 11-6 comeback South Central Conference win over Gillespie on Friday. Leitschuh, who suffered a fracture in his right thumb and a torn ligament in a 13-0 win over Belleville Althoff on April 16, suited up for the first time since on Friday.

His first plate appearances resulted in a strikeout looking with two on and two outs in the bottom of the first and he flew out to right field in his second at-bat. In his third at-bat — again, two on and two outs with Gillespie leading 6-0 in the bottom of the sixth — Leitschuh hit a two-run double to left field and scored two batters later on a single by Tucker Pastrovich. With the Purple Panthers now leading 8-6, Leitschuh hit a bases-loaded double to left in his second appearance of the inning to give Litchfield its final runs.

“I was just trying to get back into the comfort zone, get a base hit here and a base hit there instead of trying to crush the ball; just be smooth with it, consistent,” Leitschuh said. “That's what I got to do to be a winner. ” It was a huge lift for a Panthers’ team that went 7-4 without Leitschuh in the lineup as Litchfield improved to 17-11 overall and 7-3 in the SCC.

"(Credit to) my kids for not quitting,” Litchfield coach Rocky Giannuzzi said. “All that was with two outs the entire time, which is insane. It started off with Max with that double and just kept on going from there.