Elder is quickly living up to its preseason No. 1 ranking in the Division I coaches’ poll and top 50 national ranking by Baseball America.

The Panthers (4-0), Ohio defending state champions, defeated No. 3 St. Xavier on Tuesday in a Greater Catholic League South Division contest at Hille Field.

Matt Klausing (2-0) pitched a complete game, scattering seven hits along the way for the Panthers.  The Bombers scored in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Steve Lamping but the Panthers responded quickly in the bottom half of the inning with three runs.  Elder added three more runs in the third inning and rode Klausing’s arm the rest of the way.

The Panthers scored their six runs on just six hits.  Chris Fishburn went 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI.

Elder has opened the season on a roll, out-scoring their opponents by the count of 35-4.  Three of their wins have come against top-10 ranked teams including a 15-0 drubbing of No. 6 Glen Este and 8-2 win over No. 10 Oak Hills.  The schedule does not get any easier, with a game scheduled for Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Hille Field against No. 2 Moeller.