Daviess County put on an offensive clinic on Thursday, while Owensboro Catholic fended off a late-game comeback from Ohio County as both teams grabbed victories on the day.
Daviess County vs. Union County
Opening the game with a nine-run first inning, Daviess County’s offense was clicking on all cylinders in a 16-5 short-game victory over Union County.
After two flyouts to start the inning, it seemed as though the Braves would head into the second inning unscathed, but senior Brock Brubaker was walked and the Panthers took advantage. The very next at-bat, junior Layton Huskisson homered to left to make it a 2-0 ballgame.
A dropped third strike led to runners on the corners thereafter, before junior Jackson Loucks singled to left to make it 3-0. After a walk, back-to-back two-run singles from freshman Lucas Ward and junior Decker Renfrow quickly put Daviess County up 7-0.
Junior Cason Troutman singled to make it 8-0, before Huskisson struck again with an RBI single two batters later to give the Panthers a commanding 9-0 lead going into the second inning.
The Braves would score sporadically to try and create a comeback win in the second, fourth and top of the fifth, but Daviess County’s offense would not be denied. The Panthers scored at least one run in every single inning, helping them grab a 16-5 win over Union County in front of their home crowd.
Ward and Huskisson both had three RBIs each, Renfrow and Loucks had a pair and Troutman, senior Cameron Lewis and junior Marcus Murphy all had one on the day. Daviess County registered 15 hits as a team, with six players recording two hits on the day.
Now sitting at 2-0, the Panthers get a day off before they return to the diamond on the road when they take on Breckinridge County at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Owensboro Catholic vs. Ohio County
The Aces were able to hold off a late comeback from Ohio County, getting a strong outing in relief from junior Jamison Wall en route to a 5-4 win at home.
Owensboro Catholic was able to get on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead going into the second thanks to an Eagles error that led to senior Luke Evans scoring.
In the second inning the Aces scored again on an error, this time it was on a ground ball hit by Evans to make it a 2-0 game. The following at-bat, senior Everett Munsey drove in Evans on an RBI single to right to give Owensboro Catholic a 3-0 lead going into the third.
Ohio County put up three runs in the fourth to knot things up, but the Aces quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. With runners on the corners and two outs, senior Sam McFarland doubled to left to give Owensboro Catholic a 5-3 lead going into the fifth.
A sacrifice fly in the fifth would cut the Eagles deficit to 5-4, but that would be the only run that Wall would allow in his three innings of relief. His efforts out of the pen gave him the save and helped them close the door on a 5-4 win over Ohio County.
Wall gave three innings of relief on the night, recording the save while allowing two hits, one earned run, one walk and striking out six. McFarland finished with two RBIs on the day, while Munsey followed with one. Evans was the only player with two hits on the Aces.
Grabbing back-to-back home victories, Owensboro Catholic will look to grab another one when they host Breckinridge County at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
