The PECI Panthers kicked off the 2026 Bay of Quinte Baseball season last week with a pair of wins at Wellington’s Field of Dreams

On Monday the Cats kicked off the campaign with a 5-2 comeback win over the visiting East Northumberland Blue Dragons.

Trailing 2-1 into the bottom of the fourth inning, Bennett Valquette cranked a two-run double, plating Easton Vanhecke and Cohen Bedore and the Panthers never looked back.

After surrendering two runs in the top of the first, Colin Girvan held ENSS scoreless through 3 2/3 innings.

Fireballer Ethan Thompson came on in the top of the fourth inning and escaped a two-out, bases-loaded jam with a strikeout. The senior cruised the rest of the way, inducing a plethora of awkward and late swings from Blue Dragon batters over his three innings of work.

On Wednesday evening under the lights in Wellington, the Panthers mounted a comeback for the second straight outing, shading the visiting Bayside Red Devils 7-6.

Trailing the Red Devils 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Panthers backstop Malcom Gregor provided the big hit, socking a two-run double as part of a five-run outburst.

The top of the seventh was a bit of a journey for Mr. Thompson and the Cats. Bayside’s lead off batter reached base but the PECI hurler unleashed a nifty pick of play to dampen their scoring threat.

Bayside then proceeded to put together a pair of walks and a hit to push the score to 7-6 in favour of the hosts.

But Mr. Thompson was unfazed and struck out the best hitter in the Red Devils’ lineup to end the uprising and seal the win.

PECI Skipper Kyle Gould told the Gazette the PECI Seniors on the team are eager to make a deep run and qualify for the OFSAA tournament in their final year.

“Looking at the roster, I think we have all the parts,” the coach said. “In terms of pitching, this might be one of the deepest teams we’ve had in a while.”

PECI returns to the diamond Tuesday at Melrose for a double header. The first pitch goes at 1 p.m. as the Panthers duel with St. Paul’s.