Owensboro turned late offense into their first home win of the season over McLean County on Thursday, while Apollo fell just short and suffered their first loss of the season at home against Henderson County.
Owensboro vs McLean County
The Red Devils caught fire offensively late on Thursday night, grabbing a 9-5 win over McLean County in their home opener.
Owensboro didn’t get off to a great start in the contest, as a walk to start the game led to an error the very next at-bat that allowed both runs to score and give the Cougars a 2-0 lead after the top of the first. The Red Devils got one back with an RBI single from sophomore Cayden Ray in the bottom of the first, but McLean County grabbed a run in each of the next two innings to stretch their lead to 4-1 heading into the fourth.
Both teams traded a run in the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth to make it 5-2, but it was in the bottom of the fifth and sixth that Owensboro really got rolling. A one-out hit by pitch and a subsequent double from senior Connor Hallmark set up the Red Devils nicely in the fifth, as freshman Evan Hampton scored on a passed ball and Ray delivered his second RBI single of the day the following at-bat to cut their deficit to 5-4.
Sophomores Will Hume and Trevor DeLacey led off the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff double and single, as a fielder’s choice then turned into a two-run single for eighth grader Gunnar Hendricks to take a 6-5 lead. Evan Hampton followed that up with an RBI single, before a walk led to an error that cost the Cougars two runs and trailed 9-5 heading into the seventh.
Hallmark then proceeded to close out his 2 ⅔ innings pitched with a quick seventh, earning the 9-5 win in relief having allowed one hit and earning one strikeout. Ray handled the first three innings on the mound with two earned runs surrendered on two hits and two walks while striking out six, with sophomore Brady Benjamin also tossing 1 ⅓ innings of relief and giving up one run on three hits, a walk and a strikeout.
Ray and sophomore Blake Kimbrell led the way at the plate with a pair of RBIs each, while Evan Hampton, DeLacey and Hendricks all chipped in one each. Owensboro advances to 2-1 to start the season with back-to-back wins, as they’ll look to stay hot on Saturday with a doubleheader against Trigg County at 1 and 3 p.m.
Apollo vs Henderson County
The Eagles left too many runners on base on Thursday night, getting handed their first loss of the season at 4-3 by Henderson County despite out-hitting them.
After a scoreless two innings to start the contest, it was the Colonels who struck first in the top of the third with a two-run double from senior Dru Meadows to take a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile Apollo was struggling to turn hits into runs, not scoring until junior Whelan Skinner crossed home on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 2-1 game.
But Henderson County’s offense came back alive with a two-out rally in the top of the sixth, as senior Bryce Hayden delivered a two-out two-run double to make it a 4-1 game. The Eagles tried to make a quick comeback in the bottom of the seventh with a trio of one-out singles in the bottom of the seventh—with the third being a two-run single from sophomore Garrett Lanham—but it was too little too late as Apollo popped out and grounded out to ultimately fall 4-3 at home.
Junior Noah Cook had a strong start for the Eagles, allowing two earned runs on two hits, while walking one and striking out eight. Junior Will Strode handled the last two innings in relief, allowing two earned runs on two hits, while walking one and striking out two.
Cook, Strode and senior Josh Mayes all had two hits for Apollo, but it was Lanham who had the lone RBI on the day. The Eagles fall to 4-1 overall with the loss, as they will now look to bounce back against Bowling Green at noon on Saturday.
