Strong pitching and an offensive onslaught in the bottom of the fifth pushed the Owensboro RiverDawgs past the Franklin Duelers with a 9-3 win.
A pair of sacrifice flies from Paul Coumoulos and Steven Diaz brought across a run in the first and second inning for Owensboro, giving them an early 2-0 lead.
Coumoulos made it 3-0 when he struck again for the RiverDawgs in the bottom of the third, homering with a line shot over the right field fence.
Meanwhile, the Duelers couldn’t touch Brock Lucas who had kept them off the board in the first five innings of play. This momentum helped Owensboro break things open in the bottom of the fifth.
A leadoff walk for Diaz and back-to-back singles from David Jeffers and Kail Hill loaded the bases with no outs. Coumoulos homered once again to right with a three-run shot, making it a 7-0 game.
Some more fireworks came two batters later when Hayden Hirschvogel walked and was then driven in by Jacob Roberts with a rip to left.
Franklin was able to eventually get to Lucas a little in the top of the sixth, ending his day having allowed one earned run on two hits, while striking out seven.
While the Duelers made valiant efforts to put together a late comeback, Logan King, Cody Hupp and Sam Pinkert combined to only allow five hits and two earned runs.
Despite those two runs coming in the top of the ninth, this allowed the RiverDawgs to walk away with a 9-3 win.
All but two players for Owensboro registered a hit, but the bulk of the offense came from Coumoulos.
The Saint Leo University first baseman went 2-4 on the day with two home runs, totaling six RBIs.
Roberts earned two RBIs on the day thanks to his home run, while Diaz claimed the other RBI on the day.
The victory over the Duelers moves the RiverDawgs to 11-1 overall on the season with about a month of the season remaining.
Owensboro will hit the road for its next game, taking on the Dubois County Bombers at 5:30 p.m.
