Owensboro Catholic and Daviess County put together complete games on Friday, while the Red Devils struggled defensively in their respective loss.
Owensboro Catholic vs. Muhlenberg County
The Aces scored at least nine runs for the fourth straight game this week, putting on a clinic offensively to grab a 13-3 win over Muhlenberg County.
It was Owensboro Catholic’s baserunning that allowed them to get out to a strong start, as senior Luke Evans stole home before senior Sam McFarland followed to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when senior Alex Castlen got in a rundown between second and first.
The Mustangs went on to grab their first run of the game in the top of the third on an error, but the Aces responded by expanding their lead in the bottom half of the inning. After a leadoff double from Evans they took advantage of an error themselves, getting back-to-back RBI singles from McFarland and senior Braden Mundy.
Castlen and senior John Frey kept things rolling, getting a run each from a sacrifice fly and a ground out to take a 6-1 lead. Owensboro Catholic didn’t stop there either, grabbing three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to grow its lead to 9-1 going into the fifth.
Muhlenberg County tried to chip away at its deficit by grabbing two runs in the top of the fifth, but the Aces responded with four runs in the bottom of the sixth before eventually closing the door on a 13-3 win.
Senior Everett Munsey had a strong day on the mound, allowing one earned run on four hits, walking three and striking out seven in 4 ⅓ innings pitched. Junior Wyatt Jenkins followed to pitch the remainder of the game, allowing one run on no hits, two walks and a strikeout.
It was McFarland, Castlen and junior Grant Parson who led the way offensively for Owensboro Catholic, as they all recorded two RBIs each.
The Aces winning streak has extended to seven games now, as they sit at 22-4 overall going into a home matchup with Forest Park at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Owensboro vs. Warren East
Warren East’s hot start offensively never wavered, as they slugged their way to a 13-2 road win over Owensboro on Friday.
The Raiders wasted no time getting on the board, as an error on Owensboro and a single led to a two-run double by junior Braylen Lee to open up the scoring in the top of the first. Another pair of Red Devils errors allowed for two more runs to score, before senior Kindrick Williams walked a run in to take a 5-0 lead.
Owensboro was able to get a run back taking advantage of an error as well, as it turned into an RBI single for eighth grader Evan Hampton to cut it to 5-1 in the bottom of the first. However, Warren East wasn’t about to let momentum shift and kept its foot on the gas.
Defensive miscues continued to plague the Red Devils in the second, as back-to-back errors led to back-to-back RBI groundouts for the Raiders as they took a 7-1 lead. This would lead to the end of Williams day on the mound for Owensboro, as he gave up seven runs—with only one of them earned—while allowing two hits, two walks and striking out two.
The Red Devils luck didn’t change though, as they continued to struggle offensively while Warren East proceeded to grab six more runs to eventually claim a 13-2 win.
Along with Williams’ rough start, sophomore Kaleb Ashley gave up six runs—four earned—on seven hits in two innings of relief. Owensboro didn’t have much luck offensively either, as Evan Hampton and Ray were the only players to record RBIs.
The Red Devils fall to 11-14 with the loss and they will look to bounce back on Saturday at noon when they host Logan County.
Daviess County vs. Madisonville-North Hopkins
It was some late offense from the Panthers that helped them excel on Friday, as they outscored Madisonville-North Hopkins 9-2 in the road win.
Daviess County had grabbed the lead right out of the gate, scoring the first run of the game with an RBI groundout from junior Layton Huskisson following back-to-back errors by the Fighting Tigers.
After a scoreless second inning, Madisonville-North Hopkins looked to shift momentum its way. Getting a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third and an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead.
But the Panthers came roaring back, getting a two-RBI double from junior Cason Troutman and an RBI single from senior Brock Brubaker to reclaim the lead at 4-2 going into the sixth.
Meanwhile, junior Jackson Loucks was dealing, holding the Raiders scoreless going into the seventh. After Daviess County gave him three more runs in the top of the seventh, Loucks held Madisonville-North Hopkins scoreless once again to close the door on a 9-2 road win.
Loucks finished his complete game having allowed two earned runs on five hits, while walking four and striking out five en route to the win. Offensively it was senior Mason Boswell and Troutman that led the way with a pair of RBIs each.
The Panthers improve to 19-7 overall with the win, as they have a quick turnaround with a noon road matchup against McLean County on Saturday.
