Facing bases loaded with two outs in the seventh inning of the 9th District Championship game, Owensboro Catholic Head Coach Jody Hamilton decided to go to his bullpen. Enter eighth grader Cal Murphy.
Facing the biggest spot of his varsity career, Murphy quickly found himself ahead in the count 1-2 against Apollo’s Ryleigh Logan – then the lights at Owensboro High School’s Athletic Complex went out.
“I told him to take deep breaths and to stay calm,” Owensboro Catholic catcher Alex Hood said.
Nineteen minutes later, the lights returned, and Murphy locked up Logan with a curveball – securing the Aces a 2-1 win over Apollo and their third straight 9th District Championship title.
“It’s a great game and great competition,” Owensboro Catholic Head Coach Jody Hamilton said. “We are very fortunate that things come out our way, and that is why you play big games.”
A pitching duel from the start, Owensboro Catholic’s Lane Hundley and Apollo’s Gage Logsdon exchanged zeros through the first three innings, before the Aces broke through in the bottom of the fourth.
With two on and one out, Apollo went to the bullpen, calling on Ty Lillpop. Hood broke the scoreless tie with a single to score Cam James, but Lillpop bounced back by inducing a inning ending double play.
“I was expecting a fastball to come,” Hood said. “I just sat back on it and then just hit it up the middle.”
An inning later, the Aces doubled their lead when Mason Moser drove in a run on a groundout, but Lillpop retired Barrett Evans to strand two runners. Gentry Atwell, who had recorded the final out of the fifth, pitched around a two-out base runner to record a scoreless sixth.
Down to their final three outs, Apollo proved once again how challenging it is to put them away. Jackson Carder and Geordyn Stevens both singled, Lillpop reached via hit by pitch, and Gunnar Hendricks worked a bases loaded walk to make it a 2-1 game.
“Our boys are resilient,” Apollo Head Coach Heath Hicks said. “There is a lot of fight in that dugout, and I am really proud of that. I think we are going to see more of it next week.”
After the walk to Hendricks, Hamilton decided to hand the ball to Murphy, culminating in the game ending strikeout.
“The eighth grader did great,” Hundley said. “We had confidence in him all year, and that’s just what you expect out of him. It’s great.”
Both teams now await Saturday’s 3rd Region draw show to discover their future tournament opponents.
“Not reaching the Region Tournament last year hurt,” Hicks said. “It added a lot of fuel. Our goal all season is to get to Lexington, and I feel we are ready to march towards that goal.”
