A late comeback was key to a win over Greenwood for the Panthers, while a late rally was Owensboro’s downfall in their matchup with Muhlenberg County on Tuesday.
Daviess County vs. Greenwood
Despite a monster second inning for Greenwood, the Panthers late outburst gave them a 12-10 win in their season opener on the road.
Junior Decker Renfrow singled to leadoff the game and Brock Brubaker put them on the board with an RBI double after a fly out. Junior Layton Huskisson then singled to right before senior Owen Payne homered to left to take a 4-0 lead going into the second.
After Daviess County scored on a sacrifice fly to expand its lead to 5-0 in the top of the second, the Gators responded with an offensive outburst in the bottom half of the inning.
With two on and two outs in the inning, senior Ethan Gruff scored by stealing home before sophomore Reed McClard walked to put runners on first and second. Another walk led to a two-run single for senior Bryson Brockman to make it a 5-3 game.
The very next at-bat senior Rhett Dysholm homered to get a Greenwood 6-5 lead going into the third inning. The Gators added a run each in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-5 going into the fifth.
The Panthers were able to grab two runs to tie it at 7-7 in the top of the fifth, but Greenwood quickly regained the lead at 8-7 thanks to an RBI groundout from senior Joseph Rahill. However, Daviess County’s offense caught fire in the sixth.
With two on and two outs in the inning, Renfrow doubled to knot things up at 8-8. Junior Carson Troutman followed it up with a two-run double to right and an RBI single from Brubaker to give the Panthers an 11-8 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
With the bases loaded, Greenwood got a run back in the bottom half of the inning to cut it 11-9 after a hit by pitch brought a run in. The Gators looked to make a late comeback win after the Panthers made it 12-9 going into the seventh.
Back-to-back singles and a walk cut it to 12-10 for Greenwood, with runners on the corners and two outs in the inning. Another walk then loaded the bases for the Gators, but Gruff grounded one to freshman Lucas Ward who stepped on second to close out a 12-10 season-opening win.
Junior Jackson Loucks struggled on the mound with six walks and six earned runs allowed, but his offense backed him up. Payne led the way with three RBIs, Troutman had a pair and Renfrow and Brubaker both recorded two hits and two RBIs on the day.
Daviess County now has a day off before they return home to host Union County at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in its first home game of the season.
Owensboro vs. Muhlenberg County
A late seventh-inning rally from Muhlenberg County led to a walk-off in the ninth inning, as Owensboro fell 9-8 on its second straight road game.
Following back-to-back singles with one out, the Red Devils grabbed back-to-back runs on a hit by pitch and a line out to take a 2-0 lead in the first. The Mustangs got on the board in the bottom of the second thanks to an Owensboro error, but the Red Devils quickly grew their lead in the top of the third.
With runners on second and third freshman Cayden Ray scored on a dropped third strike, before an RBI groundout from junior Connor Hallmark made it 4-1 going into the bottom of the third. However, back-to-back-to-back singles, capped off by a two-run line drive by sophomore Logan Thomas made it a 4-3 game.
Then back-to-back singles from senior Jackson Miller and senior Ty Hardison tied things at 4-4 concluding the bottom of the third. However, the Mustangs came right back with an RBI single from sophomore Cortland Homes to make it 5-4 after back-to-back walks to open the fifth.
Owensboro continued the back-and-forth affair in the top of the sixth, getting a sacrifice fly from Ray after the bases were loaded with no outs. Following a one-out walk, Hallmark got his second RBI of the day with a single to make it 6-5.
The Red Devils grabbed two insurance runs on the backs of an RBI double from Evan Hampton and an RBI single from Ray to grow their lead to 8-5 going into the bottom of the seventh. However, Muhlenberg County showed signs of life with three straight singles to start the inning.
A walk then brought a run in to make it 8-6. Sophomore Sumner Shelton struck out the following at-bat, before Deacon Addis hit a sacrifice fly to make it an 8-7 game with two outs and runners on first and third.
Then senior Jake Allen singled and Eli DeBore scored on an error by freshman Ethan Gough to knot things up at 8-8 and force extra innings. After both teams went scoreless for the eighth inning, back-to-back singles from DeBore and Homes led to a walk-off 9-8 win for the Mustangs on Tuesday.
The Red Devils get right back to action on Wednesday, as they hit the road to take on University Heights Academy at 6 p.m.
