First year Southside baseball coach John Solomon probably has spent more time this season teaching the game of baseball than coaching as his Panthers are an extremely young team. The Panthers field a team with eighth graders, freshman and sophomores.

“We are really young,” Solomon said Thursday. “But, we are so much better today than we were at the beginning of the season.”

Following Thursday’s 11-2 loss to Jemison, Southside now has a record of 2-7 on the year, with six games left.

“We have two games tomorrow against Central-Hayneville and then the rest next week,” Solomon said.

As for Thursday’s game, Solomon said his young team just wasn’t able to hit the ball after taking a two-run lead after the first inning.

“We just stopped hitting the ball,” he said. “Our pitching and defense were fine, we just stopped hitting.”

The Panthers will travel to Hayneville Friday for a doubleheader against Central-Hayneville before returning for their next home game Monday.