In the opening round of the 3rd Region Baseball Tournament, Owensboro Catholic cruised past Muhlenberg County, Apollo shutout Butler County, and McLean County bested Hancock County in a pitchers’ duel.
Apollo 3, Butler County 0
Apollo flexed their pitching depth as Ross Millburn, Isaac James, Gage Logsdon, and Ty Lillpop combined for 16 strikeouts over seven shutout innings as the Eagles beat Butler County 3-0.
“Our pitchers did an excellent job tonight,” Apollo Head Coach Heath Hicks said. “They were electric with 16 strikeouts, and our defense made a couple of really good plays behind them. Ross set the tone, Isaac kept it rolling, and Ty finished off.”
Apollo struck first in the top of the second on a Jackson Carder RBI single and added two more runs in the fifth. Ty Lillpop singled home Geordyn Stevens and later stole second. After advancing to third on an error, Lillpop scored on a wild pitch.
Carder finished 3-3 with an RBI, and Brayden Burger, Millburn, Lillpop, and Stevens all had hits.
“Offensively, we did enough to get the job done,” Hicks said. “Hats off to Butler County as they made several nice plays to keep us from capitalizing on opportunities. Carder especially had a good approach for us tonight.”
Awaiting Apollo in the semi-finals is McLean County, who shutout Hancock County 1-0 earlier in the day.
McLean County 1, Hancock County 0
With two on and one out in the third, Jaelin Groves took advantage of a Hancock County error to scurry home to put the Cougars ahead 1-0. Handed a lead, the Cougars Layden Bozarth finished the evening with 11 strikeouts over seven shutout innings to secure McLean County a 1-0 win.
With this win, the Cougars have advanced to the 3rd Region Tournament semis for the first time since 2006, where Apollo awaits.
“Layden pitched lights out and was incredible on the mound,” McLean County Head Coach Darren Lynam said. “He gave up three hits, and he basically had to be perfect because there was no margin for error.”
On the bump for the Hornets was Porter Hay, who continued to baffle the Cougars offense, striking out seven and giving up one unearned run over six innings. Offensively, Hancock County’s best scoring chance came in the top of the sixth, when Hay laced a one-out single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. After intentionally walking Dylan Mucker, Bozarth struck out Kolby Keown to end the threat.
“We struggled offensively and were not able to capitalize when we did have a few opportunities,” Hancock County Head Coach Tony Banta said. “Credit to Bozarth as he pitched a really nice game. Porter Hay threw very well for us also. McLean took advantage of a miscue and that was the difference in the game.”
Owensboro Catholic 11, Muhlenberg County 1
Jaxson White made his presence felt on both the mound and at the plate, throwing three perfect innings and driving in three runs to power the Aces past Muhlenberg County 11-1. The Aces took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the third behind RBI singles by Tucker Evans, Mason Moser, Jake Murphy, and White.
The Mustangs scored their lone run in the top of the fourth, but the Aces responded with four runs in the fourth and two runs in the sixth. Mason Russelburg and Murphy both drove in a pair of runs and Evans scored twice and went 2-3 with an RBI. Lucas Patton and Gentry Atwell both pitched in relief, combing for one earned run and three strikeouts over three innings.
Next up for the Aces is a semi-finals showdown with Meade County.
