Needing to win back-to-back games, Owensboro Catholic beat Trinity (Whitesville) 13-1 and Hancock County 9-1 to win the 3rd Region All A. In the championship game, Alex Hood led the way at the plate with three hits and three RBIs, while Luke Quinn threw six innings, giving up one unearned run.
“Whitesville is really young and I am glad we came in and took care of business,” Owensboro Catholic head coach Jody Hamilton said. “We played the way we should have played. Hancock County kind of worried me because their left hander had been throwing so well against people, I didn’t know how that was going to go. I’m just glad on how we jumped on them.”
The Hornets committed two of their four errors in the top of the first, which culminated in three runs for the Aces. Chris Burns scored on an error for the first run of the game, while Barrett Evans scored on a sacrifice fly and Drew Miles stole home.
Owensboro Catholic pushed their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second after another sac fly and an RBI single. From there, Hancock County settled down defensively and held the Aces off the board for the new few innings, while cutting the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth after scoring on an error. The Aces scored two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to pad their lead.
For the Hornets, Dec Lewko allowed two earned runs over three innings, while Louden Fluharty allowed three earned runs over four innings out of the bullpen. Jack Roberts finished 2-2 with a walk, while Lane Dixon scored their lone run.
“We committed to many errors against a quality team,” Hancock County head coach Tony Banta said. “Our pitchers did what we asked them to do, but in the end, we just failed the catch the baseball. …We will keep working and try to clean up the defensive side of our game.”
Lane Hundley pitched a perfect seventh for Owensboro Catholic, striking out two, while Barrett Evans and Jude both went 2-3 with an RBI and a walk. Winners of last years All A, Hamilton is hoping to see similar success.
“Anytime you have a chance to win a midseason tournament to get us ready for the District Tournament and the Region Tournament, and I think it played big dividends last year,” Owensboro Catholic head coach. “It is really one of the toughest tournaments you will ever play in.”
