Apollo and Owensboro Catholic got some clutch performances in relief on Wednesday, helping them grab respective wins against Castle and Noeth Posey.
Apollo vs Castle
Some late offense helped Apollo bounce back from a tough district loss, grabbing an 8-5 comeback win over Castle on Wednesday.
Castle got right to work offensively, quickly loading the bases in the bottom of the first with a walk, hit by pitch and a single. Junior Will Strode nearly got out of the jam after back-to-back strikeouts, but back-to-back errors ensued and had the Eagles trailing 2-0.
Apollo was able to knot things up at 2-2 in the top of the second though, taking advantage of some walks and scoring on a pair of passed balls. After a quick inning on the mound, Strode then helped himself at the plate with a liner over the left field wall to give the Eagles their first lead at 3-2 in the top of third.
But once again Castle had the answer in the bottom half of the inning, as back-to-back doubles tied things before an Apollo error allowed another run and made it a 4-3 ballgame. The Eagles were able to tie the game once again on a dropped third strike in the top of the fifth, but it was in the sixth that Castle’s fate was all but sealed.
Apollo got four runs in the inning, as back-to-back RBI singles from senior Braxton Franey and Strode were followed up by back-to-back RBI doubles from junior Easton Blandford and eighth grader Ty Lillpop to take an 8-5 lead. Castle was able to get one run in the bottom of the seventh in an attempt for a late comeback, but senior Cayden Crabtree was able to close the door on the 8-5 win.
Crabtree handled the final two innings of play in relief, allowing a run and a hit on one walk and three strikeouts. Strode got the win in the start, allowing one earned run—four runs total—on four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.
Strode also led the way at the plate with a 3-4 day and two RBIs, while Blandford and Lillpop both had one each. Apollo improves to 6-2 overall with the nice win, as they’ll look to carry that momentum into a 5:30 home matchup on Thursday.
Owensboro Catholic vs North Posey
The Aces were able to overcome four errors on Wednesday, using a couple of strong innings offensively and a strong relief performance from junior Ben Hyland to defeat North Posey 4-3.
North Posey struck first in the game, grabbing one run in the top of the first and one in the top of the third to lead 2-0. But a double, walk and single set the Aces up nicely in the bottom half of the inning, as junior Elijah Blair delivered a sacrifice fly and freshman Barrett Evans got an infield single to plate one more and even things up at 2-2.
Owensboro Catholic gave the lead right back in the top of the fourth though, as an error allowed North Posey to take a 3-2 lead. The Aces had the answer once again though, as sophomore Brady Atwell sent a line shot over the left field wall and Blair delivered his second infield single to plate another run and make it a 4-3 game heading into the fifth.
That would be all Hyland would need to secure the win as well, as he allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out a pair in three innings to earn the save and the 4-3 win for Owensboro Catholic.
Seventh grader Jaxson White handled the first four innings of the night, allowing three runs—none earned—on six hits, no walks and five strikeouts. Meanwhile Blair, Atwell and Evans led the way at the dish, chipping in one RBI each.
Owensboro Catholic moves to 3-3 overall with their second straight win, as they’ll look to make it three in three days when they hit the road to take on South Spencer at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
