The Eagles were unable to muster up enough offense in a loss to Christian County on Monday, while Daviess County and Owensboro were able grab narrow wins over Union County and Henderson County.
Daviess County vs Union County
In a game where runs were hard to come by, the Panthers got strong pitching performances from freshman Cameron Rickard and senior Layton Huskisson to claim a 3-1 win over Union County.
It wasn’t until the top of the third that either team’s offense was able to break through, but it was the Panthers who had a leadoff walk and a one-out single lead to a sac fly from senior Decker Renfrow to break the 0-0 tie. They didn’t have to wait long for their next runs either, as junior Lake Wilson sent one over the left field wall for a pair of runs the very next at-bat to make it 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third.
Back-to-back singles and an error allowed the Braves to get a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Daviess County pitching staff shut things down the rest of the way en route to the 3-1 win. Rickard was strong in his six-inning start, allowing one unearned run on four hits and two walks while striking out four.
Rickard picked up the win, but it was Huskisson who picked up the save by allowing just one hit and striking out a pair in the seventh. Meanwhile it was Wilson who led the way at the plate thanks to his two-run homer, while senior Jackson Loucks went 3-3 at the plate and Renfrow also chipped in an RBI.
The Panthers improve to 12-9 overall with the win, as they look to carry this momentum into a district matchup with Apollo at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Owensboro vs Henderson County
The Red Devils caught fire in the last three innings of play on Monday, as their late outburst led to a 5-4 walk-off win over Henderson County.
Owensboro and the Colonels found themselves searching for a first run of the game for the first half of the game, entering the fifth tied at 0-0. However, it was Henderson County who got on the board first, drawing a one-out walk and getting an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom half of the inning.
The Red Devils responded well though, loading the bases with a walk and a pair of hit by pitches to start the bottom of the fifth. The Colonels proceeded to walk a run in during the ensuing at-bat, with a one-run single from sophomore Cayden Ray to take a 2-1 lead into the sixth.
Owensboro got one more in the bottom of the sixth as well, as an RBI double from freshman Elijah Hampton made it 3-1. Henderson County had the answer though, taking advantage of an error and a hit by pitch in the inning to score three runs and take a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
But after a groundout to lead off the inning, the Red Devils had runners on the corners thanks to a walk and a single from sophomore Brady Benjamin. An error that followed led to the game-tying run for Owensboro, but it was an RBI single from eighth grader Gunnar Hendricks after a fly out that led to a run scoring and giving them a 5-4 walk-off win over Henderson County.
Senior Connor Hallmark fared well in his two-inning start, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three. Sophomore Trevor DeLacey followed with four innings of relief, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks while striking out one.
It was Benjamin that picked up the win for Owensboro by pitching the final inning of play, allowing three runs—one earned—on two hits while striking out one. The Red Devils got a true team effort at the plate as well, with Elijah Hampton, Evan Hampton, Ray and Hendricks all chipping in an RBI each.
Owensboro improves to 11-10 overall with the win, as they hope to carry momentum from the victory into a road district matchup with Owensboro Catholic at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Apollo vs Christian County
Free bases came back to bite Apollo on Monday, as it led to a pair of late runs for Christian County and a 2-1 loss to start the week.
Having left multiple runners in scoring position throughout the game, the Eagles found themselves in a pitcher’s duel tied at 0-0 having allowed just one hit going into the fifth inning. However, a leadoff single and a two-out walk proceeded to untie the game, as the Colonels got a run on a passed ball to take a 1-0 lead.
Christian County picked up right where they left off in the sixth as well, as an error, walk, and one-out walk loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly is all they managed to get though, as the Eagles got a line out to head into the bottom of the sixth trailing 2-0.
Apollo responded well by getting a run back thanks to a leadoff walk and a two-out single from junior Easton Blandford, but they were only able to get one hit for the remainder of the game and ultimately took the 2-1 loss.
The Eagles pitching staff had a strong day despite seven combined walks, as they only surrendered two hits. However, Apollo was unable to have anyone other than Blandford record an RBI on the day, failing to cash in on their seven hits in the ballgame.
The Eagles fall to 16-8 overall with their second straight loss, as they’ll look to bounce back against Daviess County at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
