Coming off a short-game victory over the Paducah Chiefs, the Owensboro RiverDawgs couldn’t overcome a 10-run first inning and fell to the Hoptown Hoppers 12-6.
Two strikeouts and a walk had things looking grim for Owensboro right out of the gate, but Cole Gober later was able to spark a little-two out magic with an RBI single. The RiverDawgs took that 1-0 lead into the second inning looking to set the tone, but Hoptown had other plans.
The second pitch the Hoppers saw was sent into the stands by Cam Thompson to knot things up at 1-1. A single from Jake Parr and back-to-back walks then had the bases juiced with nobody out.
This set up Zayd Brannigan to come through with a bases-clearing double, making it a 4-1 game. The following batter walked, but Sammy Barnett regained some composure and earned a strikeout for the first out of the inning.
He nearly made it two outs with back-to-back strikeouts, but on the dropped third strike Nicholas Montes reached first and the bases were loaded once again.
Patrick Walker was hit by a pitch during the next at-bat bringing in a run and ending Barnett’s day on the mound. Chase Harlan came in and faced Thompson to start his day, but gave up a two-run single. This marked Thompson’s third RBI of the inning and made it a 7-1 game.
Parr matched Thompson’s efforts, sending a three-run home run to left and giving the Hoppers a 10-1 lead going into the second inning.
The RiverDawgs put up crooked numbers throughout the rest of the game and only held Hoptown to two more runs, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive outburst from the Hoppers.
The 12-6 loss moves Owensboro to 10-10 on the year, as they will have a day off before hitting the road again to take on the Henderson Flash at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 29.
