Southern 11s advance to title game; DC team falls in semis

July 11, 2019 | 12:20 am

Updated July 11, 2019 | 12:20 am

Owensboro Southern 12U All-Star pitcher Ryleigh Logan throws to the plate in the win Wednesday. | Photo by Ryan Richardson

The Owensboro Southern 11U All-Stars made easy work of their semifinal game Wednesday, setting up a rematch with Bowling Green East for the District 1 Tournament championship. Daviess County’s quest for a title ended with a loss to Bowling Green.

The championship is set for 4 p.m. Thursday at Country Heights Elementary School.

Wednesday’s semifinals began with Bowling Green East using a hot offense to beat Daviess County 18-0 in three innings. DC was unable to record a hit, and the only baserunners were Lincoln Hoffman (walk) and Jaxon McQueen (hit by pitch). Bowling Green finished with 18 hits and score nine runs in the third inning.

In the second game, Southern used an impressive hitting performance of their own to roll to a 15-1 victory over Warren County South. Owensboro also got help from winning pitcher Ryleigh Logan, who allowed a run on four hits while striking out six and walking four in 5.0 innings.

Logan helped end the biggest Warren County threat of the night in the fourth inning. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs, but a nine-pitch at-bat ended with a strikeout for Logan to end the inning.

“Ryleigh threw a ton of strikes,” said Southern manager Todd Lillpop. “That’s what we needed. We needed him to fill up the zone, not walk a bunch of guys and just let us hit. Our offense did enough tonight to put up 15.”

Owensboro got on the board in the first inning when Ty Lillpop doubled to drive in Jayden James from first base. Southern added four more runs in the second, all with two outs. A hit by pitch and a walk drove in two runs before Logan doubled to knock in another pair.

“The quicker we can put runs on the board, it puts pressure on the other team,” Todd Lillpop said. “The more pressure you can put on somebody, the more errors you’re going to see in the field and things can go a little bit south pretty quickly. That’s kind of what happened tonight.”

Warren County’s lone run came in the second frame. Owensboro put the game away in the sixth with a seven-run outburst. Six singles, a walk, a hit by pitch, a dropped third strike and an error all kept the offense moving for Southern.

Logan had the only multi-hit day, and he led the team with three RBIs. Ty Lillpop and Ashley each drove in two runs. James led with three runs, while Geordyn Stevens, Lane Hundley and Jack Krampe each scored twice.

Todd Lillpop knows Southern has a big task ahead — Bowling Green topped Owensboro 15-5 earlier in the tournament — but he’s confident in the team.

“It’s a great challenge for us,” he said. “How we handle adversity and how we fight back, those are going to be keys to the game. I’ve very confident with what we’ve got going tomorrow.”

July 11, 2019 | 12:20 am

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