Dylan Doogs and Oswego needed a course correction going into their crosstown series finale Thursday.

The Panthers dropped their first two games to Oswego East and had lost their last four games over the last week.

The dam broke in a big way.

Oswego sent 12 batters to the plate in an eight-run fourth inning. The Panthers needed all that offense to hold off visiting Oswego East 9-7 to salvage the final game of the three-game Southwest Prairie Conference series.

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Oswego East at Oswego Oswego's Graham Schwab (2) slides safely into home during baseball game Oswego East at Oswego. May 14, 2026 in Oswego. (Gary E Duncan Sr for Shaw Local )

“It was kind of a relief,” Doogs said of the big inning that he played a big role in. “Not so much pressure on us. Pitchers could pitch with a lead.”

Oswego (14-16, 4-8), trailing 2-1 after Oswego East (16-13, 7-5) scored twice in the top of the fourth, got a Drew Kleinhans single and Graham Schwab bunt single to start its half of the inning.

Doogs, who singled and scored in the first inning, singled in Kleinhans with the tying run. Loghmani’s squeeze bunt brought in Schwab with the go-ahead run.

Five of Oswego’s first six batters reached in the fourth, with seven total hits in the inning – all singles. A Kleinhans single, his second at-bat of the inning, made it 7-2.

“It’s like, Trust the next guy, get the next guy up, keep it moving,’ ” said Doogs, who reached base his first three plate appearances. “Just looking to get something to hit, they leave something over the plate, try to get some damage done.”

A sight for sore eyes for Oswego, which had totaled nine runs during its four-game losing streak.

The Panthers had traffic – multiple baserunners – in each of the first three innings Thursday, but were limited to one run with two runners caught stealing.

Oswego assistant coach John Bachio said after a good practice Wednesday the team bought in with their approaches at the plate – moving runners, getting a couple bunts down.

“We needed that inning. That is the most runs we have scored in an inning in a long time, maybe all year,” Bachio said. “A big win for us, especially mentally. I think we were questioning ourselves a little bit mentally. We’ve done some good things this year, but we’ve been slumping a little bit.”

Oswego East’s lineup, meanwhile, has been red-hot of late, averaging nearly nine runs over its last 14 games with wins in the last four. It didn’t go quietly Thursday.

Devin Wheaton’s infield single scored Dominic Battista, and Chase Lafin singled in two to close Oswego’s seven-run lead to 9-5 in the sixth. A sixth run came home when the throw to first on a dropped-third strike was high.

Battista led off the seventh with a single and scored on a Wheaton sacrifice fly.

“It was good to see us still be in it and try to come back at the end,” Battista said. “Our lineup is full throughout. We even have guys on the bench that can hit come into the game like they did at the end. We’re confident in our lineup.”

That confidence is buoyed by the return of Battista, a UIC recruit. Ranked the state’s No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2026 by Prep Baseball Report in the preseason, Battista has generated MLB draft buzz.

But the senior center fielder broke the hamate bone in his wrist the first at-bat of the spring. He finally returned to the lineup a little over a week ago.

“Definitely it was a thought in the back of my mind [about not coming back], but I was just trusting the process, taking it one day at a time,” Battista said. “Ultimately I came back, and I’m blessed to be here.”

Battista’s left-handed bat has raked since his return. He’s batting .433 in 30 at-bats with six extra-base hits and tripled and scored in the fourth Thursday.

Oswego East’s top three hitters are all batting over .400, with Oklahoma State commit Jacsen Tucker at .400 with 11 homers and 30 RBIs.

“It’s good to have [Battista] back,” Oswego East coach Brian Schaeffer said. “It changes the dynamic of the team in general. The energy, the excitement every day is drastically different now with him healthy.”

Oswego had excitement on its side at the end Thursday. Senior Aiden Jaquez, touched for the five runs in three innings of relief, got his sixth strikeout with the tying run at the plate to end it.

“Good for him, he’s had a good two years for us,” Bachio said. “They got some good hitters in that lineup. I told him go right after them. He came through for us. That’s a good-hitting team. He did what he had to do.”