The 9th District baseball tournament could not have started with much more excitement Monday night.
Swings in momentum down to the final run kept a packed house energized at Chautauqua Park before the No. 1 seed Owensboro walked off with a 6-5 win over No. 4 seed Daviess County.
The Red Devils (23-9) had to fend off a resilient effort by the Panthers (10-19) before finally earning a victory and taking the next step in defending their district championship. They now await the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 2 Owensboro Catholic and No. 3 Apollo.
Following a three-run rally that allowed Daviess County to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh, Owensboro quickly answered in the bottom of the inning for Monday’s victory.
Collier Higgs reached on a single but left the game with an injury and was replaced by pinch runner Andrew Chancellor. Isaac Humphrey then laid down a bunt that left the Red Devils with two runners on and no outs.
Brennon Williams followed with a single, and Chancellor scored from second on a throwing error from the outfield.
“These guys were not down on themselves,” said Owensboro head coach Logan Johnson. “We just needed a ball to fall. These guys smell blood and they go for it.”
After taking a 5-2 lead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Owensboro was on the verge of locking up a victory without needing another approach at the plate. Humphrey scored from third on a two-out error by the Panthers, and Tucker Hagan drove in two with a line drive up the middle.
The Panthers didn’t give up, tying the game in the next half-inning. After getting their first two runners on, Chandler Froelich drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Jacob Crabtree crushed a hit to the left-center field wall to plate two more runs with two outs to keep DC’s hopes alive.
“What a fun half-inning that was,” said Daviess County head coach Brandon Dennis. “It was painful to watch it slip away for the guys at the end, but I was so proud of their effort in the top half of the seventh.”
Johnson said the Panthers put up a good fight.
“They played a heck of a game,” he said. “They battled and hit the ball. They put the pressure on us, that’s for sure. (DC pitcher) Sam Johnson did a heck of a job staying close to the zone and keeping our hitters off balance.”
Sam Johnson went the distance for the Panthers and was in control all night. Daviess County head coach Brandon Dennis said they would have had a tough time hanging close without Johnson on the mound.
“To give us a fighting chance against a team that we have not had a fighting chance against this year was huge,” he said. “What an outstanding effort.”
Owensboro was first on the board, as Nick Belcher drove in a run with a single in the first inning. The Panthers answered in the second when Wesley Hamilton doubled and later scored.
Crabtree gave Daviess County their only lead with an RBI-hit in the third inning, but the Red Devils immediately answered with another RBI from Belcher.
Hagan led the Owensboro offense, going 2-for-3 with a triple, driving in two and scoring once. Belcher had two RBIs and a pair of hits.
For Daviess County, Crabtree went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.
Humphrey went 6.0 innings for the Red Devils, giving up four runs (two unearned) on six hits with four strikeouts. Braxton French got the win after recording the final three outs.
With the postseason on the line, Johnson said Owensboro was not taking this game lightly.
“We were absolutely not looking past this game,” he said. “We talked about playing our best brand of baseball. Fortunately these guys were tough enough to come through and win.”
Though the Panthers’ season is over, Dennis said he could not be happier with the effort.
“All the areas where we’ve had weaknesses throughout the year, we saw huge gains tonight,” he said. “Win or lose, if this were a test, we passed it. Those guys showed growth at every position, we bounced back after mistakes and they picked each other up. I couldn’t be more proud.”
DCHS 011-000-3—5-7-3
OHS 101-003-1—6-10-2
WP: French. LP: Johnson. 2B: Crabtree 2, Hamilton (DC), Epperson (O). 3B: Hagan (O).
