Paradise Panthers Win First-Ever Baseball Championship with 9-0 Shutout

For the first time in program history, the Paradise Panthers are state champions in baseball. The Panthers capped a landmark run with a 9-0 shutout of Franklin in the 3A Division 2 championship game, a performance defined by timely hitting and a fifth inning that turned a close game into a rout.

Paradise broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Jake Ryan laced a shot up the middle that caught a bad hop and handcuffed the Franklin shortstop, allowing two runs to score. The Panthers led 3-0 heading into the fifth, but that's when the game unraveled for Franklin.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Ryan went inside-out on a swing and dropped one in to score two more. When the ball was mishandled in the outfield, a third run scored on the play. Franklin finished the game with five errors, and the fifth inning alone told the story of how costly those miscues became.

Cash Lander followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 7-0, and Carter Mara kept the line moving with another hit through the middle to plate Lander. Six runs in the inning, nine on the scoreboard, and a first-ever state title for the Paradise baseball program.