Owensboro wasn’t able to hold off a late comeback from the Hornets of Hancock County, while Daviess County’s offense was too much for Trinity on Wednesday.
Owensboro vs. Hancock County
In a grueling pitchers duel in which both teams combined for four hits in the game, it was Hancock County who got to the Red Devils bullpen and came away with a 2-0 win.
The Red Devils struggled to get any momentum going early on, getting their first hit in the first inning and not getting one again until the sixth. Luckily for Owensboro, junior Connor Hallmark was dealing.
He held the Hornets hitless through the first three innings, before they got a single from junior Ryan Jones. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that they were able to get to Hallmark to start a rally.
After going five innings without giving up a run and striking out five, Hallmark gave up a leadoff walk and was pulled. Junior Kaleb Keown then singled to right after sophomore Kaleb Ashley entered the game.
He hit the next batter to load the bases and then Jones hit a sacrifice fly that turned into a double play, but led to an error by freshman Cayden Ray that scored two runs for Hancock County. This gave the Hornets a 2-0 lead heading into the top of the seventh.
Unable to get any offensive momentum going, the Red Devils went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, closing out a 2-0 win for Hancock County.
Jones had the lone RBI of the game for the Hornets, while Elijah and Evan Hampton were the only players to record a hit in the game for Owensboro.
Now sitting at 2-2 overall, the Red Devils have a day off before they return home and host McLean County at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Daviess County vs. Trinity (Whitesville)
After grabbing an early lead, Daviess County was able to grab two runs in the bottom of the sixth to help them secure a 7-2 win over Trinity (Whitesville).
The Panthers opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second thanks to a solo home run from senior Owen Payne, before grabbing three in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead into the fourth.
After a hit by pitch and a single, an RBI groundout put the Raiders on the board and cut their deficit to 4-1. The Panthers answered with a run of their own, before Trinity followed that up with one in the top of the sixth to make it a 5-2 game.
But Daviess County’s offense was ultimately too strong, as an RBI double from senior Brock Brubaker and an RBI single from junior Layton Huskisson made it 7-2 going into the seventh. It was there that junior Decker Renfrow shut the Raiders down 1-2-3 to close out a 7-2 win for the Panthers.
Senior Mason Mattingly had the only hit of the day for Trinity, while freshman Connor Hatfield had the lone RBI. Junior Landon Huff allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out six in five innings and freshman Brady McBrayer gave up two runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Brubaker had a big day at the plate, going 3-4 at the plate while earning a team-leading two RBIS. Payne and junior Cason Troutman both had two hits, while they and junior Jackson Loucks all had RBIs on the day.
Troutman had a good day on the mound, going five innings giving up just one hit and one run while walking three and striking out five. Renfrow had the other two innings, giving up one earned run on no hits while walking three and striking out one.
With the win the Panthers move to 5-0 overall, as they hit the road for a matchup with Grayson County at 6 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, the Raiders fall to 0-3 as they will look for their first win on Friday against Breckinridge County on the road at 6 p.m.
