The Eagles struggled to create offense on Monday, while Daviess County and Owensboro Catholic got ample run support to grab wins against Campbellsville and Spencer County.
Apollo vs. Oakton, Whitley County
Despite out-hitting Oakton in the first game of the day, Apollo was unable to turn them into turns and fell to Oakton 4-0.
Oakton was able to get the first run of the day in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of three Eagles errors in order to take a 1-0 lead. After a silent second inning, Oakton added another run to its lead in the bottom of the third.
Apollo came back roaring offensively in the fifth, looking to shift momentum by loading the bases with a quick two-out rally. However, a groundout quickly ended the Eagles’ scoring opportunity and Oakton never looked back.
Adding two more runs along the way, Oakton’s pitching staff recorded seven strikeouts and held Apollo scoreless en route to the 4-0 win. Senior Harrison Bowman and sophomore Will Strode led the way for the Eagles, recording two hits each.
The Eagles luck didn’t change in their second game of the Cal Ripken Experience, as they fell to Whitley County 5-2.
It took three innings of scoreless baseball to get someone on the board first and it was the Colonels who grabbed the first lead of the day. Seeming as though another scoreless top half of the inning for Whitley County was coming, a two-out triple from junior Sam Harp and back-to-back singles from junior Mason Croley and sophomore Matthew Wright gave them a 2-0 lead.
After shutting the Eagles down in the bottom of the fourth, the Colonels expanded their lead in the fifth. This time it was an Apollo error and two RBI singles from Harp and Croley that gave Whitley County a 5-0 lead.
The Eagles were finally able to break through and get two runs back in the bottom half of the fifth with RBI singles from Bowman and sophomore Noah Cook, but it was too little too late as they were held scoreless for the remainder of the game and fell 5-2.
Bowman and Cook were responsible for the lone RBIs, while joining senior Nick Judd as the only Apollo players to record hits in the game.
The pair of losses moves the Eagles to 6-4 overall, as they will look to bounce back with games against Nicholas County and Pleasure Ridge Park at 9 and 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday.
Daviess County vs. Campbellsville
The Panthers caught steam in the middle of its second game of the Fort Walton Beach Bash, going off for five runs in the fourth inning en route to an 8-5 win over Campbellsville.
Daviess County was able to get the first run of the game in the top of the third, but the Eagles quickly regained the lead with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. However, the Panthers responded swiftly.
After a leadoff triple from senior Brock Brubaker, junior Layton Huskisson homered to give Daviess County a 3-2 lead. Two walks and a hit by pitch then loaded the bases, until two errors allowed the Panthers to get three more runs and take a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the fourth.
Daviess County got one more run each in the fifth and sixth inning, helping them counter three late runs from Campbellsville in order to secure the 8-5 win.
Huskisson, junior Cason Troutman and senior Cameron Lewis all recorded two RBIs each on the day, while senior Owen Payne chipped in one as well. Sophomore Lake Wilson went six innings for the Panthers, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out five.
The win moves Daviess County to 7-4, as they will look to grab two more wins when they take on Glasgow and Henry County at noon and 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Owensboro Catholic vs. Spencer County
Getting a shutout performance from its pitching staff, Owensboro Catholic poured in the runs to grab a 10-0 win over Spencer County on Monday.
The Aces opened up the scoring in the first inning, getting an RBI single from senior Braden Mundy to make it 1-0 after back-to-back walks for them to start the inning. Then senior Alex Castlen got to work on the mound.
Castlen had held the Bears hitless through the first three innings of the game, before gaining a 5-0 lead after a four-run inning in the top of the fourth. He then finished his final inning, closing the game having allowed one hit and one walk while striking out three.
The following inning Owensboro Catholic continued piling it on, getting five runs with RBIs from junior Jamison Wall, senior John Frey, freshman Parker Heistand, senior Luke Evans and senior Everett Munsey to take a 10-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.
It was there that junior Wyatt Jenkins closed out the game in his one inning on the mound, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out three en route to a 10-0 win for the Aces.
Owensboro Catholic will be looking to advance its winning streak to seven on and to 10-1 overall on Tuesday, as they are set for a 6 p.m. matchup with Madison Central.
