Struggles on the mound hindered Owensboro and Daviess County in their final spring break games, falling to Santa Fe Catholic and Bullitt Central respectively on Thursday.
Owensboro vs Santa Fe Catholic
Free bases and an inability to string together hits came back to bite Owensboro on Thursday, falling to Santa Fe Catholic 8-2 to close out their spring break slate.
Santa Fe Catholic got going early, as a leadoff error and double was followed up by an RBI groundout and sacrifice fly to give them a 2-0 lead after the bottom of the first. A pair of doubles and a single kept them rolling in the bottom of the second as well, grabbing two more to take a 4-0 lead.
The Red Devils were able to shrink their deficit with a run in the top of the fourth and fifth, but they couldn’t slow down Santa Fe Catholic and gave up four more in the bottom of the fifth en route to the 8-2 loss.
Sophomore Will Hume took the loss in his two-inning long start, giving up two earned runs—four total—on four hits while striking out three, with sophomore Will Rickard following in 2 ⅓ innings of relief, giving up four earned runs on two hits and six walks while striking out two.
Junior Kaleb Ashley pitched the last 1 ⅔ innings and allowed just one walk while striking out a pair, while senior Connor Hallmark and freshman Evan Hampton tallied the lone RBIs of the day for Owensboro. The Red Devils fall to 5-5 overall with the loss, as they now take a few days off before returning home to host Ohio County at 10 p.m. on Monday, April 10.
Daviess County vs Bullitt Central
The Panthers comeback attempt fell short on Thursday to close out the Fort Walton Beach Bash, falling to Bullitt Central 4-3 thanks to a walk-off sacrifice fly.
Daviess County wasted no time crossing the plate on Thursday, as a one-out single from senior Cason Troutman and an error led to an RBI single for senior Layton Huskisson to make it 1-0 in the top of the first. Bullitt Central bounced right back though, getting an RBI single of their own in the bottom of the first and a two-run double in the bottom of the second to take a 3-1 lead.
The Panthers battled right back with a nice inning of their own in the top of the fourth though, as a leadoff walk and single led to a sacrifice fly from sophomore Lucas Ward and an RBI single from senior Decker Renfrow to even things at 3-3. After that Daviess County wouldn’t get a hit until the top of the seventh though, with a walk from Troutman following another Renfrow single to put runners on first and second with one out in a tie ballgame.
However, back-to-back fly outs quickly ended the threat and gave Bullitt Central the chance they needed in the bottom of the seventh. A leadoff walk got things going, but back-to-back bunt singles led to a walk-off sacrifice fly for Bullitt Central to claim the 4-3 win.
Senior Jackson Loucks struggled in his start, giving up three earned runs, six hits and five walks while striking out two in 2 ⅓ innings. Junior Carter Nichols was handed the loss, having given up just one earned run on four walks and three strikeouts in 3 ⅔ innings pitched, while senior Ethan Ahart pitched the last two-thirds of the game.
Renfrow and Huskisson led the way at the plate, serving as the only Panthers to record an RBI on the day. Daviess County falls to 7-4 overall with the loss, now taking a short break before returning home to host Butler County at 5:30 p.m on Monday, April 10.
