Wiman leads Aces to walk-off win over Panthers

April 17, 2019 | 1:20 am

Updated April 17, 2019 | 3:52 am

Andrew Wiman helped lift Owensboro Catholic to a win over Daviess County at home. | Photo by Marc Ray

Andrew Wiman was perfect at the plate and scored the game-winning run in the seventh inning as the Owensboro Catholic baseball team walked off with a 4-3 victory over Daviess County on Tuesday night at Chautauqua Park.

Wiman (3-for-3, 2 runs, RBI, double) scored the final run off an RBI single by Alex Castlen to guide the Aces (13-6, 2-0 9th District) to their seventh straight win, and they improve to 2-0 in the district. The Panthers (5-10, 0-2) dropped their fourth in a row.

After trailing for most of the game, Daviess County put pressure on Catholic by scoring a run in the top of the seventh. Singles by Cole Troutman and Garrett Small put a runner in scoring position for the Panthers with two outs, and Jacob Crabtree followed with an RBI single to right field to tie the game at 3-3.

In the bottom of the inning, three walks loaded the bases with only one out before Castlen knocked in Wiman.

“It felt great to score the winning run,” Wiman said. “Castlen coming through with a big hit, it was awesome.”

Owensboro Catholic head coach Derek Hibbs said spoke highly of Wiman after the game.

“Tonight’s 3-for-3 performance puts him at nearly .540 (batting average) for the year,” Hibbs said.  “He’s consistently hitting the ball to all parts of the field. He’s our clutch guy.”

Cason Troutman began the game with a single for Daviess County, and he scored the first run on a fielder’s choice by Garrett Small. Catholic followed suit, scoring one run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Wiman.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the third when Catholic rallied with two outs to plate two runs off of a single by Finley Munsely and a double by Hunter Small. The Panthers stranded two runners in the fourth before scoring one run on two errors in the top of the fifth inning.

Nolan Boswell started on the mound for the Panthers, surrendering three runs on seven hits through five innings. Chandler Froehlich closed out the game and gave up one run on one hit.  Despite a tough road loss, Daviess County head coach Brandon Dennis was still pleased with his team’s pitching performance.

“We had a couple free passes I know they’d like to get back,” Dennis said. “Other than that, I’m really proud of the way both of them pitched.”

Mason Grant got the nod for the Aces, surrendering two runs on seven hits in six innings before giving way to the eventual winning pitcher Luke Scales. Scales surrendered one run on three hits in the victory.

Despite dressing several underclassmen, Hibbs expressed his interest in moving past the “young” narrative for the Aces.

“This team is 13-6 on a varsity schedule,” Hibbs said.  “We can’t talk about youth anymore, we have to talk about going out and executing.”

After some tough losses for the Panthers in recent weeks, Dennis was excited about the way his team competed and was especially pleased with their efforts in the field.

“I’m really excited about the way we played the game, and battled back there and tie it up,” Dennis said. “Just to even have a shot to win it there in the seventh, I’m super proud of them. I’m encouraged by the effort.”

DCHS 100-010-1—3-10-1
OCHS 102-000-1—4-8-4
WP: Scales. LP: Froelich. 2B: Small, Wiman (OC).

April 17, 2019 | 1:20 am

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