Despite facing some early adversity, sophomore Noah Cook was in control of the game and led Apollo to a 3-0 victory over the Red Devils with a one-hit performance on the mound.
Owensboro had the first big scoring opportunity of the night, finding themselves with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the first thanks to three walks by Cook. However, senior Kindrick Williams popped out to short to end the inning and that would nix any scoring chances.
Two innings later it was Apollo that would break through for the first runs of the game, starting back-to-back singles from junior Cayden Crabtree and senior Dayton Brown that led to a 1-0 lead. Senior Nick Judd followed with an RBI single of his own, giving the Eagles an early 2-0 lead.
From then on Cook would take charge, working quickly through the Red Devils lineup and striking out 14 batters after the rough start.
“He just settled in,” Owensboro Head Coach Jake Fiorella said. “Part of that is because he got a little more comfortable I think and they’ve got some veteran guys there that just maintain the even keel and know that it’s a long game.”
Cook’s performance was more than enough to seal the deal for Apollo, as they tagged on one more run in the top of the seventh. Following a leadoff triple from senior Harrison Bowman, Brown singled to left to score the last run of a 3-0 district win over Owensboro.
“Noah did a great job on the mound for us,” Apollo Head Coach Mason Head said. “Cayden did a good job for Owensboro keeping us in check for the six innings that he was on the mound. He kept it a game for them. If Cook’s not hot it could’ve very easily turned in a different direction.”
Brown and Judd led the way at the plate for the Eagles, earning two and one RBI respectively. Brown, Bowman and junior Josh Mayes all had two hits each.
Despite giving up two runs in the third, freshman Cayden Ray had a solid outing on the mound. He allowed five hits on the night, walking three and striking out two.
“Our pitcher and our defense gave us an opportunity to win the game,” Fiorella said. “Offensively I feel like we just need to be a little more aggressive. We got some baserunners on early in the game, we just couldn’t cash it in.”
While Owensboro has yet to grab a district win and falls to 7-9 overall, Fiorella feels as though they are slowly working out the kinks as the season progresses in order to put themselves in a good position in the postseason.
“You want to be playing clean defense, you want your pitchers to be able to mix pitches and fill up the strike zone and you want your offense to have competitive at-bats and give yourself a chance…” Fiorella said. “I actually feel really confident that we’re going to do that. We’re getting pieces of it here and there, we just have to put all the pieces together at once. ”
Meanwhile, Apollo moves to 13-6 overall and 1-1 in district play, having lost to Daviess County in its only other ninth district matchup. Head said that they’re still figuring out what will make this team be the most successful, but getting this one out of the way doesn’t hurt.
“It’s good to get in the win column for sure,” Head said. “We’re at a midway point. We’re still trying to figure out about two or three pretty key things out… It’s a process until May 14.”
Owensboro has a day off before they return to district action, as they will look for revenge against the Panthers at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The Eagles on the other hand have a quick turnaround, as they are set for a home matchup with Trinity (Whitesville) at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
