Daviess County’s offense was firing on all cylinders Friday, handing the Eagles their first district loss of the season at a score of 9-2.
Following a quick first inning, senior Owen Payne mowed through Apollo once again in the top of the second. The Panthers then took advantage of a walk and an error to start the bottom half of the inning, before Payne singled to give them a 1-0 lead.
Following a walk during the next at-bat, the Eagles nearly got out of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. However, junior Decker Renfrow came through and singled to center to take a 3-0 lead into the third.
Apollo got a run back in top of the third thanks to an RBI groundout from freshman Sam Holder, but the Panthers matched them with a run in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 4-1 game. Daviess County then proceeded to pour on the offense, scoring two runs each over the fourth, fifth and sixth.
The Eagles were able to get one run back in the top of the seventh because of a fielder’s choice from junior Aiden Wells, but that was all they could muster up as they fell to the Panthers 10-2.
Payne and junior Jackson Loucks silenced Apollo’s bats throughout the night, as they only allowed three hits combined. Payne gave up one run on one hit, walked eight and struck out five, while Loucks allowed one run on two hits, walked one and struck out one.
Senior Brock Brubaker led the way with four RBIs—including a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth—for the Panthers, while Renfrow had two and Payne and Loucks had one each. Wells and Holder had the lone RBIs of the day for the Eagles.
Apollo falls to 12-5 overall and 2-1 in district play with the loss and they have a quick turnaround, as they will have a tough road matchup with St. Xavier at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Daviess County improved to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in district play and will also have a Saturday matchup at 11 a.m., as they are set to battle with Breckinridge County.
