​For Latta head baseball coach Dillon Atkinson and his Panthers, it was a 24-hour stretch that was almost as good as it gets.First, Latta marched into Silo and stunned the top-ranked Rebels 8-7 on their home turf, snapping the fall baseball juggernaut’s 28-game winning streak.The next day, Atkinson and his coaching staff handed out state championship rings to celebrate the Class 2A state title the Panthers captured last spring.Talk about a memorable couple of days.During the ring ceremony at Panther Park, Atkinson’s wife, Ceara, even received a special surprise — a pendant featuring an exact replica of the top of the championship rings.“The boys did a great job designing them,” Atkinson said.The fifth-ranked Panthers entered the fall season with their sights set on another Class 2A state championship after winning it all in the spring.Still, knocking off previously unbeaten Silo should officially put the rest of the top teams across the state on notice.The Panthers would love nothing more than to bring some more hardware home next month, and they figure to be a tough out when the playoffs roll around next week.Latta brought Silo’s season-long winning streak to a screeching halt. The Rebels fell to 28-1 and Latta improved to 16-6.“It was a big win for our team and our program. Obviously Silo’s season and tradition need no introduction,” Atkinson said. “I’m just so proud of how our guys competed. That’s a tough environment to go in, and our guys handled it well.”Latta 8, Silo 7The Panthers built a 7-3 lead after pushing across three runs in the top of the fifth inning.Christian Wolfe sparked that Latta surge with an RBI double and later scored on a run-scoring single by Johnathan Gray. Kaiden Goolsby added a sacrifice fly in the inning.Latta tacked on an error-aided run in the top of the seventh to push its lead to 8-5.But the Rebels weren’t about to go down without a fight.Silo clawed its way back into the contest, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh to close the gap to 8-7.With the tying run at second base, Latta relief pitcher Greg Forshay coaxed a groundout to first base by Ty Hatley to end the game and preserve the arguable biggest victory of the fall season for the visitors.“We got big hits, big defensive plays and contributions from a lot of guys,” Atkinson said.Silo had been on an offensive tear, scoring 34 runs in its previous four games.But sophomore pitcher Kreed Garrett, making just his second start of the fall, showed plenty of grit against the hard-hitting Rebels.Garrett struck out three, walked five and allowed four earned runs in six hard-fought innings.“Kreed was unbelievable on the mound. He’s just a fierce competitor who showed no fear up there,” Atkinson said. “I’m really proud of him and proud of our entire team.”Gray ripped a solo home run to cap a three-run third inning that put the Panthers ahead 4-1. He finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs to pace Latta’s six-hit offense.Go