PAOLA — Losing in the semifinals of the KSHSAA 4A Regional, the Chanute Blue Comets’ baseball season came to an end with a 5-3 defeat to the Paola Panthers on Tuesday.
Trailing 4-1 going into the sixth frame, the Blue Comets plated a pair of runs but fell one shy of knotting the score.
Paola provided an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
Kris Harding was charged with the loss on the hill for Chanute, allowing a dozen hits and striking out four over 16 outs of work.
David Mercer earned the win for Paola, tossing 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts.
Chanute’s offense was limited to five hits, with a pair along with two runs coming from Lawrence Chaney.
Chaney also threw two outs in relief.
Paola’s Jace Kerley tallied three hits while Hunter Loethen, Roman Barnes and Mason Stein added two apiece.
The loss dropped Chanute’s final record on the season to 9-17 overall.
