Owensboro Catholic struggled in the field to suffer their first loss of the season on Tuesday, while Apollo was able to remain undefeated with another sharp pitching performance in a win over Madisonville-North Hopkins.
Apollo vs Madisonville-North Hopkins
The Eagles lineup backed up strong performances on the mound from sophomore Carter Kimmel and senior Hayden Cash on Tuesday, defeating Madisonville-North Hopkins 6-1 at home.
Apollo got on the board early with an RBI single from junior Easton Blandford in the bottom of the first, while junior Brock Burger got one and was followed up by a sac fly from sophomore Sam Holder in the bottom of the second to take a 3-0 lead into the third. The Eagles got another 1-2 punch in the fourth and fifth, getting a sac fly from senior Josh Mayes and a two-run homer to right from junior Will Strode to make it a 6-0 game.
Kimmel dealt during those five innings as well, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out five in the start. Holder proceeded to come in and close the door in the final two innings, allowing one unearned run on a hit and a walk while striking out two en route to the 6-1 victory.
Strode led the way with a 1-3 day and a pair of RBIs, while Burger, Holder, Blandford and Mayes all had one each. Apollo now sits at 4-0 to start the season, looking to take that momentum into a road matchup with Henderson County at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Owensboro Catholic vs Muhlenberg County
Defensive miscues came back to bite the Aces in their home opener on Tuesday, as eight errors led to 10 unearned runs in a 12-7 loss to Muhlenberg County.
The Mustangs got on the board first, as a pair of walks and a two-out error led to a 2-0 lead following the top of the second. Owensboro Catholic was able to get one each in the bottom half of the next two innings, but Muhlenberg County got three in the top of the third and five in the top of the fourth to make it a 10-2 ballgame.
The Aces went on to score six runs over the next three innings, but it was too little too late as the Mustangs got one in the top of the sixth and seventh in order to secure the 12-7 road victory. Owensboro Catholic allowed just six hits on the day, but walked eight and struck out eight while giving up two earned runs.
Junior Elijah Blair led the way at the plate for the Aces with a 2-2 day with two RBIs, while junior Deuce Sims, sophomore Parker Heistand, freshman Barrett Evans and eighth grader Jake Murphy all had one each. Owensboro Catholic falls to 1-1 with the loss, as they will look to bounce back on Wednesday in a home game against Meade County at 5:30 p.m.
